Two Kennedys Back Obama

It’s been a pretty amazing weekend for Barack Obama. After winning the South Carolina primary by 28 points, he managed to score the endorsements of Caroline Kennedy, who said he has the ability to inspire Americans much as her father did, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, who had been neutral but was so upset with the Clinton campaign’s tactics that he phoned the former president and gave him an earful.

Hillary Clinton isn’t entirely without the support of Kennedys. Her campaign released a statement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert Kennedy’s daughter, who said she and her siblings back Hillary.

New York Times on Ted Kennedy’s endorsement:

Both the Clintons and their allies had pressed Mr. Kennedy for weeks to remain neutral, but Mr. Kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the Clinton campaign. He and former President Bill Clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what Mr. Kennedy considered misleading statements by Mr. Clinton about Mr. Obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign.

Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Clinton on Sunday to tell him of his decision.

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Caroline Kennedy on Obama:

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. 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.

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