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Ted Kennedy to Endorse Obama

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January 27, 2008 12:26 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., will endorse Barack Obama's presidential bid at an American University rally on Monday in Washington, a source close to Kennedy tells ABC News.

The endorsement gives Obama a boost in the eyes of the Washington establishment, and comes after some prominent Democrats criticized Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former president Bill Clinton for their campaign tactics before Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina.

Caroline Kennedy, the late President John F. Kennedy's only daughter, announced her endorsement of Obama in an Op-Ed for the New York Times on Sunday.  Also joining the Senator and his niece, will be Kennedy's son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who will also endorse Obama.

Completing a strong endorsement day, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison -- who famously declared Bill Clinton to be the nation's "first black president" -- will also endorse Obama on Monday, an Obama campaign source tells ABC News.

In an October 1998 essay in The New Yorker, Morrison wrote: "Years ago, in the middle of the Whitewater investigation, one heard the first murmurs: white skin notwithstanding, this is our first black president. Blacker than any actual person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime."

The Morrison endorsement is expected to come via letter from Morrison to Obama that the campaign is releasing.

Back to Kennedy-palooza: in an exclusive "This Week" interview, Obama hinted that the senior senator from Massachusetts might on the edge of putting his official seal of approval on Obama's campaign.

"I'll let Ted Kennedy speak for himself. 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," Obama said. "I will let him make his announcement and his decision when he decides it's appropriate."

Obama also spoke out on Bill Clinton’s involvement in his wife’s campaign after a week of mounting tension between the two camps.

In response to Bill Clinton’s comments comparing Obama’s South Carolina win to those of Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988, Obama suggested Bill Clinton’s "frame of reference" and racial politics may be outdated.

"His frame of reference was the Jesse Jackson races. That's when, you know, he was active and involved and watching what was going to take place in South Carolina. I think that a lot of South Carolinians looked at it through a different lens. . . As long as we were focused on those issues, we thought those would transcend the sort of racial divisions that we've seen in the past," he said.

The 55 percent won by Obama in South Carolina was more than double the 27 percent of the vote that went to Clinton, with Edwards coming in third at 18 percent.

But Obama did clarify, however, that he did not think Clinton’s comments this week were intended to negatively harm his campaign.

"I don't think they were trying to demonize me, but I do think that there is a certain brand of politics that we've become accustomed to, and that the Republican Party had perfected and was often directed against the Clintons, but that all of us had become complicit in, where we basically think anything is fair game," he said.

He also reiterated that the "slash-and-burn politics" that exists in Washington today "is not the Clintons' fault. It is all of our faults, in the sense that we've gotten into these bad habits and we can't seem to have disagreements without being disagreeable. So part of what I think we have to do is to set a new tone in politics. Not a naive one."

ABC News' Mary Bruce contributed to this report.

January 27, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (366)

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I wonder if Kennedy will introduce him as he did two years ago: Osama Bin, uh, uh, Osama Obama, uh, uh, Barack Obama.

Posted by: Jef | Jan 27, 2008 12:33:58 PM

When are the Kennedy's gonna announce their McCain endorsement?

Posted by: Safety Begins at the Borders | Jan 27, 2008 12:35:06 PM

This is quite beautiful.

Kennedy's daughter supports Obama and now Teddy. Obama is going to win this baby!!

Posted by: Brian | Jan 27, 2008 12:35:11 PM

Good to hear ole Teddy is on board the Bama Train. Proves this candidate is able to pull together a coalition of many. It's about the FUTURE, Hillary, and you ain't it.

Posted by: JBB | Jan 27, 2008 12:36:49 PM

For many Democrats/liberals this is the tipping point in the election. The delegate lead is 15 for Obama and he's going to upset Clinton.

Posted by: Brian | Jan 27, 2008 12:39:47 PM

At this rate, it's beginning to look like it is Obama who is the candidate of the Democratic establishment. I mean, you don't get much more "establishment" than the Kennedy family. Obama has garnered a slew of endorsements lately. I'm not sure this is such a good thing for Obama, however, as there could be a bit of a "pile on" effect in evidence, and as Hillary starts to look like the "scrappy underdog" bravely trying to win despite the enormous forces (mostly men, I might add) arrayed against her. I mean, you can't get much more misogynistic than Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy.

Posted by: Sally | Jan 27, 2008 12:40:45 PM

If any republican race-baited or used code language as much as the Clintons, there would be rallies and marches across the USA. How do the Clinton's get a way with it?

Posted by: Jamie | Jan 27, 2008 12:41:40 PM

Super Tuesday will decide everything, and these are open primary races. Hillary is going to win and I'll tell you why. In open primaries, I, as a Republican, can actually vote for Hillary. This is done all the time.. You can expect millions of Republicans to vote for Hillary in these open primary states. Obama is going to lose badly.

Posted by: tom | Jan 27, 2008 12:45:52 PM

Obama is so classy. Even after the disgusting gutter politics that the Clinton's played, he still refuses to sling mud. Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if Obama had made a bunch of sexist remarks? We don't need Clinton's brand of trailer park politics in the White House again.

Posted by: nate | Jan 27, 2008 12:49:42 PM

You can expect millions of Republicans to vote for Hillary in these open primary states.

Now that's comedy!

Posted by: laughing | Jan 27, 2008 12:51:22 PM

John Edwards is the Ralph Nader (Spoiler) in 2008. Selfish, self-centered; does nothing for uniting Democrats. People like John “Spoiler” Edwards beginning to look more and more like Bill Clinton: Saying and doing anything to get elected, no matter what the people or results indicate.

Give'em Hell Obama! Lord know the RIGHT kind of Changeis coming...

Posted by: M Robledo, McAllen, TX | Jan 27, 2008 12:54:40 PM

With Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy endorsing Obama "because he is more like JFK" is totally wrong! I well remember JFK and voted for him, but he was no Obama, or for that matter, John Kennedy was no Ted Kennedy. Sure Obama has the media frenzy and the youngsters all wrapped up with him, but JFK had a REAL cause...and that was outright discrimination against blacks that existed at the time. Other than that, he was a hawk militarily, believed in strong family values, a Christian and most of all would qualify as a conservative in today's political beliefs.
Obama on the other hand, represents a far left democratic party that supports liberal policies that John Kennedy NEVER would have promoted (eg gay narriage). JFK was a man of substance with beliefs that changes had to be made, and he did it, civil rights...and it's done. Barak Obama is a man of 'no change' when you break down his political philosphy. If he had come out and said, okay ,we are going to fix the Social Security System, Medicare, unfair tax plan..that would be 'change' and then we would be talking about a JFK. Obama is no JFK !

Posted by: Vince Hugh | Jan 27, 2008 12:55:27 PM

It does make you wonder "Where are the corresponding Clinton endorsements?". I keep coming back to a line someone used about John Kerry, namely "He had no real friends in the Senate". Sure there were people who worked with him, like we all do with co-workers, but few who were willing to put their reputation on the line to endorse him publically.

In spite of the carefully-crafted "hardworking" image, could her fellow senators really view Hillary as just a "stepping stone" senator with an unfair advantage in Bill? Everyone in that club fancies themself a president-in-waiting and as petty as it sounds, this could be payback from a lot of people who still remember being hung out to dry defending a lying Bill Clinton.

Posted by: Frank | Jan 27, 2008 12:55:32 PM

There is NO WAY in He$# that ANY Republican would vote for the Hill.
Ever.

Posted by: Iowannawinner | Jan 27, 2008 12:55:33 PM

I read Caroline Kennedy's comments and they are absolutely wonderful.

Posted by: Keith Hood | Jan 27, 2008 12:56:31 PM

I thought that Ted Kennedy was supporting that ultra left wing Liberal Democrat John McCain. McCain has Joe Lieberman, The New York Times, La Raza, MALDEF and dozens of illegal alien groups backing him against Hillary.

Posted by: John Rowse | Jan 27, 2008 12:56:40 PM

THIS IS A GREAT DAY. IT HAS BEEN ABOUT SIX YEARS SINCE I HAVE FELT SUCH PATRIOTIC PRIDE. GO AMERICA AND GO OBAMA! MY HEART BELONGS TO BOTH OF YOU.

Posted by: Oxford4 | Jan 27, 2008 12:57:23 PM

There Teddy goes, getting in over his head again.....

Posted by: PFL | Jan 27, 2008 12:59:27 PM

too bad so many Democrats are getting caught up in the Obama frenzy.
Let's face it Obama is not JFK and this is not the 60s.

We are in a complex global political structure. Obama doesn't have the substance, he may have charisma to sway the crowds but not world leaders. I am not willing to gamble on on-the-job training and will vote Republican if I have to get the substance I am looking for in a leader.
Shame on Democrats for falling for political strategy.

Posted by: Jackie | Jan 27, 2008 1:00:32 PM

Obama should accept the endorsement, but not accept a ride from Kennedy if a bridge is on the way.

Posted by: juan | Jan 27, 2008 1:02:17 PM

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