The Kennedys endorse Obama
Hillary Clinton must be running out of lamps to throw at Bill.
In the latest fall-out from the would-be First Husband's return to the political fray last week, the Kennedy family has made it clear that most of them, and all the ones who count, would like Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee for president this year. Now this isn't completely due to Bill's attacks on Obama--they truly see him as the political reincarnation of John and Bobby--but a good part of it is.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter and only survivor of President John F. Kennedy, endorsed Obama yesterday in a New York Times op-ed piece titled, "A President Like My Father." Sen. Ted Kennedy, who reportedly has had angry phone conversation with Bill Clinton about his tactics, will endorse Obama at a news conference today and then head out on the campaign trail with him. Ethel Kennedy, widow of Bobby, referred to Obama as "our next President" even before he got in the race.
Those of us who remember those photos in the 1990s of the Clintons and Kennedys vacationing together on Martha's Vineyard, and the stories about Hillary's bonding with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, can only imagine what's being said in the Clinton compound today. Hillary points out that the Kennedy adoration of Obama isn't universal, that Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a daughter of Bobby, is still for her, but since much of the world hasn't heard of Kennedy-Townsend, it's like using a feather to try to balance a lead brick.
The Kennedy endorsement will matter for Obama. It will help among Hispanics, who voted heavily for Hillary in the Nevada caucuses, and may help some white liberals get past their uneasiness over Obama's less-than-progressive positions on some issues and their worries that he isn't inclined to duke it out with Republicans. In the end, though, it will come down to who has the most delegates at the Democratic National Convention this summer. Hillary could still win (and that's not necessarily a bad thing).
Don't forget the old saying: old age and treachery beat youth and skill every time.