As despicable and inhumane as that event was, it did have a silver lining. It prevented Chappaquiddick Ted from ever being elected President. Without that incident the country would almost assuredly have had to suffer through at least one term of him, just like we are now with owebuma.
Even worse. Without Chappaquiddick, we would likely have been afflicted with Dead Ted in 1976, instead of Jimmeh.
It would have been disastrous, but the Kennedy name at that time was powerful.
It's very possible he could have prevented Ronaldus Magnus from being elected in 1980, in which case we'd still be staring down the USSR gun barrel, and the nation would have slid much further down the socialist road than it has.
The effect of a Dead Ted presidency would very possibly still be causing damage to the nation through judicial appointments that were instead made by Reagan.
Mary Jo was likely as much a skank as Fluke, but her cruel death did her nation a great service.