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 News from Around the Americas | January 2008 
Kennedy to Endorse Obama
 Jeff Zeleny - The New York Times
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| | Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) makes remarks at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at American University in Washington January 28, 2008. Kennedy, a Democratic icon and a leading liberal voice, endorsed Obama on Monday for the party's presidential nomination and called the young lawmaker an inspirational uniter. (Reuters/Mike Theiler) | | |
Macon, Georgia - Senator Edward M. Kennedy intends to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama during a rally on Monday in Washington.
The Kennedy endorsement has been underway for days, even before the outcome of the South Carolina primary. Mr. Kennedy told his decision to Mr. Obama on Thursday.
"I've had ongoing conversations with Ted since I've got into this race," Mr. Obama told reporters today as he flew to Alabama.
Of all the endorsements in the Democratic Party, Mr. Kennedy's is viewed as the most weighty. He had vowed to stay out of the presidential nominating fight, but as the contest expands into a state-by-state fight - and given the tone of the race in the last week - associates said he was moved to announce his support for Mr. Obama.
The endorsement will be announced at a rally at American University on Monday, hours before the State of the Union Address at the Capitol.
Mr. Obama flew to Georgia for his first post-South Carolina stop. Before appearing at Sunday morning church services at the Harvest Cathedral in Macon, Ga., Mr. Obama was asked about Mr. Kennedy's potential endorsement on ABC News' "This Week."
"Well, you know, I'll let Ted Kennedy speak for himself. And nobody does it better," Mr. Obama said. "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."
Mr. Kennedy, the latest in a string of senators to announce their support for Mr. Obama, is said by associates to be drawn to Mr. Obama because of his ability to motivate a new generation of Democrats. His niece, Caroline Kennedy, made a similar argument in an op-ed piece in today's Times.
During Mr. Obama's three years in the Senate, he has worked to build allies and gain friendships with many of his colleagues. While Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Obama have not been particularly close, Mr. Obama quickly gained the admiration of the Kennedy family.
It was on a November day in 2005, near the end of Mr. Obama's first year in the Senate, when he was asked to deliver a keynote address at a ceremony commemorating the 80th birthday of Robert F. Kennedy. The invitation was extended by Ethel Kennedy, whom at the time referred to Mr. Obama as "our next president."
"I think he feels it. He feels it just like Bobby did," Mrs. Kennedy told me that day, comparing her late husband's quest for social justice to Mr. Obama's. "He has the passion in his heart. He's not selling you. It's just him."
While Mr. Obama dismissed the suggestion at the time, her words were among the many accolades from prominent Democrats that sparked his presidential ambitions.
In an interview with reporters aboard his plane, Mr. Obama said he had been having ongoing conversations with Mr. Kennedy since he began his presidential campaign a year ago. He declined to discuss the endorsement of Mr. Kennedy, but he called the support of Caroline Kennedy "an extraordinary honor."
"For somebody who, I think, has been such an important part of our national imagination and who generally shies away from involvement in day to day politics to step out like that is something that I'm very grateful for," he said.
A President Like My Father
Caroline Kennedy - New York Times
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Over the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn't that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country - just as we did in 1960.
Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates' goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.
Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people - known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics - to become engaged in the political process.
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents' grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.
Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
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.
Caroline Kennedy is the author of "A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love." |
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