Kennedy to Endorse Obama

Democratic Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy will endorse Barack Obama for president.

The endorsement will be announced Monday in Washington:

Obama would not answer questions about an endorsement from Kennedy during an appearance on television this morning:

"I'll let Ted Kennedy speak for himself. And nobody does it better," he said on ABC's "This Week." "But obviously, any of the Democratic candidates would love to have Ted Kennedy's support. And we have certainly actively sought it. And you know, I will let him make his announcement and his decision when he decides it's appropriate."

Kennedy's endorsement of Obama will follow that of his niece, Caroline Kennedy:

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

Generally I don't think endorsements mean all that much. But in Democratic Part politics the Kennedys have a special impact.

The Boston Globe calls the endorsement a huge blow to Hillary:

The coveted endorsement is a huge blow to New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who is both a senatorial colleague and a friend of the Kennedy family. In a campaign where Clinton has trumpeted her experience over Obama's call for hope and change, the endorsement by one of the most experienced and respected Democrats in the Senate is a particularly dramatic coup for Obama.

"The America of Jack and Bobby Kennedy touched all of us. Through all of these decades, the one who kept that flame alive was Ted Kennedy,'' said Representative Bill Delahunt, A Quincy Democrat who is also backing Obama. "So having him pass on the torch [to Obama] is of incredible significance. It's historic."

This is just huge. It may even be enough to swing Massachusetts to Obama on Super Tuesday.

Comments

[Manuel A. Tellechea]

Just Like Her Daddy and Worse

The Princess Royal of the Kennedy clan, who has herself accomplished nothing in life except being born to wealth and privilege, has draped her father's moth-eaten cloak on Barack Obama, who, in her father's White House, would have been a footman or cook. Say what you will about Obama, he got there himself without the benefit of a rich daddy or corrupt political machine. He may be more unprepared to be president and more disastrous for this country than was JFK, but we hope, at least, that he will be impervious to "love notes" from middle-aged political camp followers who are still trying to be influential without ever being relevant.

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