January
28, 2008
Spurning Hillary,
Senator Kennedy to Support Obama
New York
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a veteran Democrat and younger brother of
slain US president John F. Kennedy, is set to endorse Barack Obama's
presidential bid, rejecting pleas from the Clintons and their
supporters to stay neutral.
The Massachusetts senator's backing is expected to lend Kennedy
charisma and connections to Obama campaign before the 22-state Feb 5
showdown for the Democratic nomination.
Kennedy, 75, a major figure in Democratic party politics for over 40
years, has agreed to actively campaign for Illinois Senator Obama.
This could help him gain support among union workers and Hispanics,
who are a core part of rival candidate Hillary Clinton's supporters.
Obama, who had a wide win in South Carolina primary, could do with
some help as he still trails Clinton in nationwide polls, and is
behind in most of the big states that will vote Feb 5.
Both Bill and Hillary Clinton and their allies had pressed Kennedy
to remain neutral in the Democratic race - as he had in past
presidential races - but he had reportedly become increasingly
disenchanted with the negative tone of the Clinton campaign,
particularly in South Carolina primary, where former president Bill
Clinton injected race in the contest.
Kennedy, who has had friendly ties with the Clintons and worked
closely with Hillary, New York senator, on health care and other
legislation, has called Bill Clinton Sunday to tell him of his
decision, media reports said.
Senator Kennedy's endorsement, which follows a public appeal on
Obama's behalf by Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of
President Kennedy, is seen a blow to the Clinton campaign and pits
leading members of the nation's most prominent Democratic families
against one another.
Kennedy's endorsement appears to support analysis that Bill
Clinton's campaigning on behalf of his wife in South Carolina has in
some ways hurt her candidacy. The Clinton campaign has said his role
will now be softened.
In an effort to minimize the impact of the twin Kennedy endorsements
for Obama, the Clinton campaign on Sunday issued a statement of
support from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor
in Maryland and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, third of the Kennedy
brothers who was a leading presidential candidate when assassinated
in 1968.
Obama is said to have actively courted Kennedy for several years,
seeking him out for Senate advice and guidance before making the
decision to enter the presidential race.
After Obama took Iowa caucuses, Kennedy concluded that he had
transcended racial lines and the historical divisions the Kennedy
family had worked to tear down. Kennedy was also impressed at how
Obama was not defined as a black candidate, but seen as a
transformational figure.
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