Keller: Despite Kennedy's Failed Senate Bid, Potent Political Attributes Remain

BOSTON (CBS) - "Each generation expands the definition of we," said outgoing Congressman Joe Kennedy III on Wednesday in his House farewell speech. "We suffer setbacks. We get pushed off-track and sometimes can't feel the progress. We fight amongst ourselves. But still – generation after generation – we expand."

This was the message – and the passionate messenger – that drew more than 600,000 votes in last September's US Senate primary.

Unfortunately for Kennedy, incumbent Ed Markey's message – there's no real reason to dump me, and who the hell do the Kennedys think they are anyway? – won 150,000 more votes, sending young Joe off to the private sector.

For now, anyway.

Unlike his former congressman father, who was never comfortable in the House and passed on multiple opportunities to run for other elected posts, Joe Kennedy III clearly likes public service. Friends say he feels boxed out of another run here by the ferocity of the anti-Kennedy energy unleashed online by the Markey campaign.

But while his Senate run was plagued by unforced errors and an actual plague, his loss is hardly disqualifying. The money, the energy and the famous name are still there and remain potent political attributes.

Should Sen. Elizabeth Warren quit to join the Biden administration or decide as 2024 approaches that two terms are enough, Kennedy might try for the Senate again, Ayanna Pressley notwithstanding. Will Markey really run again in 2026, when he'll turn 80? Joe will only be 46 by then, just a couple years older than great-uncle John was when he won the presidency in 1960.

And while the Kennedys historically prefer federal office, that has not held true for Joe's generation. Aunt Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was lieutenant governor of Maryland and ran for governor there; cousin Ted Kennedy Jr. served in the Connecticut State Senate.

If Attorney General Maura Healey finally pulls the trigger on a run for governor in 2022, might Joe try to succeed her? He was an assistant DA in Barnstable and Middlesex Counties before moving to Congress; his interest in legal issues is well documented. And as Healey has demonstrated with her high-profile prosecutions of opioid manufacturers and stream of lawsuits challenging Trump administration policies, the AG's office can thrust a statewide officeholder onto the national stage more than any other constitutional office outside of the governorship.

Kennedy isn't talking about his future plans much. When you're a Kennedy, especially one with a resume and personality as potentially appealing as his, you don't have to.

Look for him to sleep in a little, flip a few pancakes, and try to make up for eight years of never being home enough. And then, watch out.