Sen. Ted Kennedy would have had a "very, very difficult" time politically surviving the drowning death of a young woman if it happened in the era of blogs, talk radio and 24-hour news cycles, experts said.

Today, Baughman said, Kennedy could still survive a Chappaquiddick -- largely because of the Kennedys' clout and because Massachusetts is so enamored with the family -- but it would be tougher with the Slate.coms and Drudge Reports of the world hounding him.

Diver John Farrar, who pulled Kopechne from the car, told media outlets she may have lived had Kennedy called police immediately, and George Killen, a detective-lieutenant with the State Police, alleged at the time that Kennedy "killed that girl the same as if he put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger."