Kennedys Announce That They Will Back Obama

By Pamela Mortimer

It was shock to many when a large faction of the Kennedy family chose to back Barack Obama at the "Stand for Change" rally campaign at American University on Monday. According to political forecasters, Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy (D-MA) brings a great deal of weight to the Obama campaign through his endorsement. Joining Ted are his youngest son, Senator Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of presidential icon John F. Kennedy.

The support of the Kennedys promises to give Obama a huge boost as he heads into "Super Tuesday" on February 5. Super Tuesday is the moniker given to the first major primary – one that tends to be the biggest day for the nomination of future presidents. If Obama takes Super Tuesday, chances look good that the he may become the Democratic front runner.

Dems are saying that the endorsement will also help Obama gain support from traditional Democratic groups that historically supported President Clinton, such as union households, downscale workers, and Hispanic communities.

The nod from Teddy also shows that Obama is making headway in his attempts to prove that he has the experience necessary to be the next president.

The announcement leaked out on Sunday, stunning Kennedy’s Senate colleagues. Most expected Kennedy to maintain a neutral standing until the increasingly rancorous nominating contest with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) was settled. The leak came the same day that Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama with a New York Times op-ed piece. The headline read, "A President Like My Father: Obama will inspire a new generation of Americans."

"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," she wrote.

Sources say that the endorsement has been a huge embarrassment to Hillary Clinton who, along with her husband former President Bill Clinton, has "courted" the Kennedy family for quite some time. Bill Clinton made a personal appeal to Ted Kennedy on behalf of his wife, to no avail. Over the past few days, Bill Clinton made a last ditch effort to stop Kennedy's endorsement, orchestrating a flood of phone calls to Kennedy. The calls came from various sources, ranging from union chiefs to Clinton’s Massachusetts constituents.

The Republican National Committee issued a statement saying: "Senator Kennedy’s rejection of his friend and colleague is a stunning blow to Clinton’s campaign."

Former colleagues of President Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy have openly supported Obama, perhaps in part because the candidate reminded them of the charismatic brothers. One of the JFK’s former civil rights advisers, Harris Wofford, said Obama "touches my soul".

"For me, no one has done that since John, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King," Wofford said in December. "I waited a long time to have that feeling."

When asked about the rumors of the upcoming endorsement on "This Week", Obama played coy with ABC host George Stephanopoulos.

"I'll let Ted Kennedy speak for himself," Obama said. "And nobody does it better. But obviously, any of the Democratic candidates would love to have Ted Kennedy's support. And we have certainly actively sought it."