Invoking the memory of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and daughter offered ringing endorsements of Barack Obama at American University on Monday, giving him a big boost in his race against Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who was reportedly upset at former President Bill Clinton for attacking Obama and injecting race into the campaign, took dead aim at the hardball tactics of the Clinton political machine.
“With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion,” he told a fired-up audience of 3,500 in Bender Arena. “With Barack Obama, we will close the book on the old politics of race and against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay.”
Residents and students began lining up for the event at 5:30 a.m., with the crowd ultimately wending for blocks through the Spring Valley section of Northwest Washington. Hundreds were turned away at the door, while 500 Obama supporters watched the event in an overflow space.
Caroline Kennedy, who political analysts say could help draw women and younger voters to Obama, endorsed him in The New York Times on Sunday. She told the AU crowd that Obama “offers the same sense of hope and inspiration” as her slain father.
Ted Kennedy’s support is expected to help Obama with Hispanics and union workers. The endorsements were a serious blow to Clinton, who had long been vying for the support of her Senate colleague.
University of New Mexico political science professor Christine Sierra said Ted Kennedy’s endorsement will resonate among Mexican-American voters in her state who first became involved in politics when John F. Kennedy was running for president. “President Kennedy’s campaign was the first to target Mexican-Americans as a significant bloc of voters,” Sierra said.
Ted Kennedy is expected to campaign next week in New Mexico, where Hispanic voters make up 36 percent of the electorate, Sierra said.
