Kennedys Gather in Support of Obama

By Shailagh Murray
It was a Democratic tableau for the ages: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy and Rep. Patrick Kennedy taking turns at the podium to bestow the misty mantle of Camelot on Sen. Barack Obama.

"In times such as these, we need, as we had with my uncle, a leader who can inspire confidence and faith in our government, inspiring a belief that our government can be good again," said Patrick Kennedy, Teddy's son.

"Over the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me that they wish they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way they did when my father was president. This longing is even more profound today," said Caroline Kennedy, speaking next, and cribbing from her New York Times op-ed endorsing Obama, published yesterday. "Fortunately, there is one candidate who offers that same sense of hope and inspiration."

Her uncle, the liberal lion, thundered of Obama in his Kennedy-esque way, "He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past. He is a leader who sees the world clearly, without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in without demonizing those who hold a different view. He is tough-minded, but he also has an uncommon capacity to appeal to the better angels of our nature."

The political benefits from the Kennedy coup remain to be determined. But one striking feature of today's event was this confession from Obama: " I was too young to remember John Kennedy and I was just a child when Robert Kennedy ran for president."