http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/ Caroline Kennedy endorses Obama Posted: 10:40 PM ET Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Barack Obama. (CNN) — In a decision she attributes to "patriotic, political and personal" reasons, former First Daughter Caroline Kennedy is endorsing Barack Obama for president. In an op-ed in Sunday's New York Times published on the paper's Web site Saturday night, titled "A President Like My Father," Kennedy writes: "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…. "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's uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, has not yet endorsed a candidate in the Democratic presidential race. Her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has endorsed Hillary Clinton. An endorsement that even Lloyd Bentsen wouldn't have been able to deny.
Barrak's campaign has asked Teddy to work on his elocution before they'll consider his endorsement... <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/APx2YJ-_jos&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/APx2YJ-_jos&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> (I know it's old......but this is pure gold).
I know I'll take flack for this but heck what else is the D & D for. JFK record wise wasn't that great of a president and at times almost disastrous. He had no signifigant domestic successes other than getting a tax cut passed, most of his foreign policy successes really weren't that successful except in regard that nuclear war didn't break out and JFK gets a huge pass in regard to Vietnam when it was him who ramped up US involvement and other than speculation there is little evidence to support that he would've withdrawn from Vietnam had he completed his term. One of the problems that I worry about Obama is that he will be like JFK in that while he will be incredibly charismatic he will be unable to win over Congress that much, both the Republicans and entrenched Democratic leadership, to back his more ambitious goals. On the foreign policy front his lack of experience will be seen as an invitation by enemies and geopolitical rivals to test US resolve.
I couldn't agree more. The best thing JFK did for his legacy was get shot. Otherwise, he would have went down in history as the Vietnam President who had this crazy, urealizable idea of going to the moon.
I couldn't disagree more, but I'm not going to rehash an old argument here. Caroline's endorsement will resonate will a lot of undecided Democrats, like it or not. Jack Kennedy is part of the "legend" of the Democratic Party. In his own way, much like FDR. Part of the mythos, if you will. His portrait still hangs on the wall of homes in Ireland and other countries around the world, where people remember when the United States stood for something good, not something crass and, yes, almost evil... represented by George W. Bush. Say what you like about Jack Kennedy, but to the world, he is what this country once was, and we can hope will be again. Impeach Bush.
I've been called that before, but I don't mean to be. I certainly should have said that differently. What I was trying to say was that Kennedy was really good at rhetoric, and not good at all at getting anything done (besides turning a small mess in Vietnam into a bigger one). He was really good at giving speeches and getting voters excited. Your response to rocketsjudoka is exactly what I'm talking about. He certainly gave voters, and his supporters around the world hope. But he did nothing to help realize those hopes. With a shortened Presidency, we look back, not at an ineffective dreamer, but at a visionary who didn't get a shot. If he had been allowed to fulfill his term, history certainly wouldn't view him so favorably.
Obama is no JFK. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTyYM-dUgCI&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTyYM-dUgCI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
Off topic: JFK was the most overrated president of the 20th century. Back on topic: The fact this endorsement will motivate people to support Obama is silly. Why any thinking voter would give a care about Caroline Kennedy's opinion escapes me. If JFK were still alive and said this, that would be different. Has Nancy Reagan weighed in yet on the GOP side?
I'm glad you clarified that. I was worried about you. Look, I simply disagree about JFK's legacy and the impact his rather brief stint in the Oval Office had on this country. You guys can go back and forth on the topic, but I just don't feel like it. And I wouldn't dismiss Caroline Kennedy endorsing Obama. Frequently, what causes a person to vote for a particular candidate is the sum of what they know. Sure, far too many are "one issue voters," but they are the minority, IMO. Ms. Kennedy's endorsement, for some Democrats and Independents with a fond memory of the Jack Kennedy years, just might tip their vote towards Obama. Impeach Bush.
Anyone that makes their decision based on an endorsement from Caroline Kennedy doesn't deserve to have a vote. That's just childish. Deck: I know you'll fight this to the death, but I would have to agree with the majority of political scientists/political historians when they classify JFK as "below-average to average." He is probably the most overrated president of the century. In other news, Ted is endorsing Obama. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/politics/27cnd-campaign.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Ordinarily, I don't think endorsements make much of a difference. Where I think it could have an impact in a Clinton vs. Obama race is this: people who like Obama but are concerned that he is not electable or too inexperienced may think twice when major party figures get behind him. When you have people like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and others coming out to support an underdog candidate, it may make people think "hey, these guys work with him and think he's the best choice. Maybe my concern that he's too inexperienced is overblown." Whether that will happen, I'm not sure - but I do think if there is an impact, that's where it would be felt. It would just be in taking some of the hesitation away from voting for Obama. We'll see.
I know we've gone back and forth on this but let me ask you this. What were JFK's major legislative and foreign policy achievements?
Interesting tidbits from the Ted Kennedy endorsement (I figured this thread was as good as any): http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/8134.html Rejecting a personal entreaty from President Bill Clinton, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president in a joint appearance on Monday, Democratic sources said. The embrace provides a dramatic rocket for Obama to ride into the frantic, nationwide campaigning ahead of the spate of Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5, the biggest day for nominating contests in U.S. history. Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will also appear at the rally, the sources said. Democrats said the endorsement will help Obama with traditional Democratic groups where Clinton has been strong — union households, Hispanics and downscale workers. Also, the nod by the most experienced member of the Senate adds significant standing to Obama, who is working to prove he has the experience necessary to be president. The announcement stunned Senate colleagues, who had expected Kennedy to remain neutral until the increasingly vitriolic nominating contest with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) settled out. “This is the biggest Democratic endorsement Obama could possibly get short of Bill Clinton,” said a high-level Democrat. The Clinton campaign launched a last-ditch effort over the last few days to stop Kennedy's move, orchestrating a flood of phone calls to Kennedy from sources ranging from union chiefs to his Massachusetts constituents. The former president also called Kennedy in a vain attempt to keep him out of the race, a source familiar with the conversation said. During his two terms in the White House, President Clinton made repeated overtures to the Kennedy family. So the senator’s rejection of his wife is at least as embarrassing as her 28-point loss in the South Carolina primary on Saturday. Kennedy is set to appear with Obama at the “Stand for Change” rally the campaign is holding at American University in Washington, D.C., at lunchtime on Monday, the sources said. For months, former aides to President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy showered praise on Obama, describing him as the heir to the Kennedy mantle. But when Politico reviewed the Kennedy family’s endorsements and campaign contributions in December, reporters found a house divided. A tangle of longstanding political ties, friendships and gut feelings caused the Kennedys and those closely identified with them to scatter across the primary field. Old hands to President Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy came out for Obama, in part because he reminded them of the charismatic brothers. One of the former 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.” But Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up more direct support. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and her sister, Kerry, have hit the trail for her. The Kennedy family, including Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin, had sent more than $15,000 to Clinton. (Obama had received more than $9,000 from family members.) Eunice Kennedy Shriver and a half-dozen other family members put money on Sen. Christopher Dodd, who is very close with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and has known the family for decades. With Dodd out of the race, the constraints for Sen. Kennedy had likely diminished. Word of Kennedy’s planned endorsement leaked the same day that his niece, Caroline Kennedy, endorsed Obama with a New York Times Op-Ed headlined, “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. The Kennedy endorsement is likely to give Obama a lift among Hispanic voters because of Kennedy's passionate advocacy of immigration legislation. The Obama campaign, which lags far behind Clinton among Hispanic voters in national polls, is likely to prominently display the endorsements by both Kennedys in Latino communities. The disclosure also comes the same weekend that the House's highest-ranking Latino, California Rep. Xavier Becerra, also announced that he is backing Obama. Obama was coy about the upcoming endorsement when ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked him about it on “This Week.” “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.” The Republican National Committee piled on, issuing a statement saying: “Senator Kennedy’s rejection of his friend and colleague is a stunning blow to Clinton’s campaign.” Clinton aides today downplayed the significance of the endorsement. “She has a great deal of respect for Sen. Kennedy and is very proud of all the endorsements she's received from her Senate colleagues,” said Doug Hattaway, a Clinton spokesman. “At the end of the day, the voters are going to choose a candidate on their merits, not on their endorsements.” Not sure I believe this will have that much of an impact to the specific groups mentioned, but it can't hurt and does really answer some of the "is he ready" questions when more and more of his colleagues say he is.
I don't think Obama is unelectable and I'm not surprised that many party stalwarts are lining up behind. My own view is this has more to do with dislike of the Clinton's than it does with praise for Obama. My even more cynical view is that many of the party stalwarts believe Obama will be easier to handle than Clinton who will likely triangulate between Congressional Dems and Republicans. My view isn't that Obama will be a disaster as president but at the moment I believe Hillary is a better choice. Since I also have severe reservations about all of the Republican candidates so at the moment the choice to me comes down to Hillary or Obama and I think Hillary is a better choice. Obama might end up being a very good president but at the moment, and I'm forced to agree with his critics, he is more sizzle than steak and JFK is the model that was a presidency that was almost all sizzle.
Apparently beforehand Bill called Kennedy and asked that he hold the endorsement. Rumor has it that Bill's JJ comments finely pushed Kennedy to come forth with the endorsement. interesting
The other side of this, however, is all the governors that are now coming out backing Obama. Every day, you seemingly hear about a new one. Kathleen Sebelius (?), the governor of Kansas and a supposed rising star in the party, is going to give the State of the Union response tomorrow and then endorse Obama on Tuesday. It's a pretty wide group of people. Oh I totally understand this - I can see the rational for supporting Clinton on either the issues or effectiveness basis. I just don't agree that experience is a major necessity or even a huge plus based on history, but I can see why others would disagree.
