Sen. Kennedy endorses Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) - January 28, 2008 "I feel change in the air," Kennedy said in remarks salted
with scarcely veiled criticism of Obama's chief rival for the
nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as her husband,
the former president.
"I have marveled at his grit and grace," he said of the man a
full generation younger than he is.
Kennedy's endorsement was ardently sought by all three of the
remaining presidential contenders, and he delivered it at a pivotal
time in the race. A liberal lion in his fifth decade in the Senate,
the Massachusetts senator is in a position to help Obama court
Hispanic voters as well as rank-and-file members of labor unions,
two key elements of the Democratic Party.
He is expected to campaign actively for Obama in the days before
a string of delegate-rich primaries and caucuses across 24 states
on Feb. 5, beginning later this week in Arizona, New Mexico and
California.
The senator made his comments at a crowded campaign rally that
took on the appearances of a Kennedy family embrace of Obama, who
sat smiling as he heard their praise.
He was introduced by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late
president, who said Obama "offers that same sense of hope and
inspiration" as did her father. Rep. Patrick Kennedy also endorsed
Obama from the stage before a boisterous crowd at American
University.
"Today isn't just about politics for me. It's personal,"
Obama, 46, said when it came time for him to speak. "I was too
young to remember John Kennedy and I was just a child when Robert
Kennedy ran for president. But in the stories I heard growing up, I
saw how my grandparents and mother spoke about them, and about that
period in our nation's life - as a time of great hope and
achievement."
In his remarks, Sen. Kennedy sought one by one to rebut many of
the arguments leveled by Obama's critics.
"From the beginning, he opposed the war in Iraq. And let no one
deny that truth," he said, an obvious reference to former
President Clinton's statement that Obama's early anti-war stance
was a "fairy tale."
"With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics
of misrepresentation and distortion.
"With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics
of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against
ethnic group, and straight against gay," Kennedy said.
The Massachusetts senator had remained on the sideline of the
presidential campaign for months, saying he was friends with Obama,
Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, as well as
several Senate colleagues who are no longer in the race.
Lately, according to several associates, Kennedy became angered
with what he viewed as racially divisive comments by Bill Clinton.
Nearly two weeks ago, he played a personal role in arranging a
brief truce between the Clintons and Obama on the issue.
Questioned about Kennedy's endorsement, Hillary Clinton said
simply, "We're all proud of the people we have endorsing us."
She also defended herself and her husband against criticism that
they had engaged in racial politics and distortion of a rival's
record.
"There's been no two people who have stood against that more
than we have over many years," she said in a conference call with
Arizona reporters.
Kennedy refers only sparingly to his assassinated brothers, John
and Robert, in his public remarks, and his endorsement of Obama was
cast in terms that aides said was unusually personal.
"There was another time, when another young candidate was
running for president and challenging America to cross a new
frontier. He faced criticism from the preceding Democratic
president, who was widely respected in the party," Kennedy said,
referring to Harry S. Truman.
"And John Kennedy replied, 'The world is changing. The old ways
will not do. ... It is time for a new generation of leadership.
"So it is with Barack Obama," he added.
Kennedy began his remarks by paying tribute to Sen. Clinton's
advocacy for issues such as health care and women's rights.
"Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support," he
said.
But he quickly pivoted to a strong endorsement of Obama, whom he
said "has extraordinary gifts of leadership and character, matched
to the extraordinary demands of this moment in history."
"I believe that a wave of change is moving across America,"
Kennedy said.
Also Monday, Obama picked up the endorsement of author Toni
Morrison, who once labeled Bill Clinton the "first black
president." Morrison said she has admired Hillary Clinton for
years because of her knowledge and mastery of politics, but cited
Obama's "creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals
wisdom."
Morrison said her endorsement had little to do with Obama's race
- he is the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother
from Kansas - but rather his personal gifts.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)