Barack Obama

Earlier today I endorsed Barack Obama for president, and I couldn't be more excited for the Democratic Party, the nation -- and the world.

Barack inspires me -- it's that simple. In the words of President Kennedy:

"The world is changing. The old ways will not do... It is time for a new generation of leadership."

In Barack, I see that next generation of American leadership: a figure who can transcend the divisions in this country that my family and I have fought so hard to tear down.

We were all moved four years ago as Barack told us a profound truth: We are not red states and blue states, but one United States. Since then, he has matched that rhetoric with action, traveling the country to inspire record turnouts of men and women of all ages, races, parties and faiths. Barack has forged consensus in the Senate on contentious issues such as immigration and pushed through necessary reforms like the most far-reaching ethics reform in its history.

But I'm not only supporting Barack because of what he has done. What counts in our leadership is not the length of years in Washington, but the reach of our vision, the strength of our beliefs, and that rare quality of mind and spirit that can call forth the best in our country and our people.

That's why I'm most excited about the promise of President Obama:

As president, Barack Obama will break the Washington gridlock to finally make health care what it should be in America.

He will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion and bridge the divisions of race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation that plague our country.

He will end a war in Iraq that he has always stood against, that has cost us the lives of thousands of our sons and daughters, and that America never should have fought.

He will close the door on the old economics that has written off the poor and left the middle class poorer and less secure.

He will make the United States the great leader and not the great roadblock in the fateful fight against global warming.

When Barack Obama raises his hand on Inauguration Day a new generation of American leadership will take charge and restore the hope, peace and prosperity the country so desperately needs.

Looking out from the stage today, I realized just how powerful his campaign has become. It's a movement for change -- and one that I'm proud to be a part of.

Comments

[Norm]

Dear Senator Kennedy:

I wrote your office some months back to tell you I was so fed up with the Democratic party I was changing my affiliation to Independent. Well, Sir, I'm coming back as soon as possible.

I am feeling inspired when a while ago there was no one to inspire me. And I feel hope after feeling despair and hopelessness.

We need an Obama at this juncture in history.

And we surely needed a Kennedy endorsement.

Thank you.

[BernieO]

Obama made you look really bad with his churlish snub of Hillary last night. For someone who is going to change the tone in Washington, he does not seem to be able to withstand criticism. I think you misjudged him.

[Sloopydrew]

Hillary Clinton supporters must enjoy the smell of mothballs. Either that, or they're so enamored with the prosperous 90s that they can't see the forest through the trees. One of the main reasons our economy is in the dumps right now is because President Bill Clinton succeeded where his Republican predecessors failed -- in passing NAFTA and, ultimately, WTO. Ross Perot warned us that the "large sucking sound" we'd hear would be our jobs leaving the country if George H.W. Bush were re-elected OR if Bill Clinton were elected. He was right. And Hillary is oh so wrong for this country. Every bit as wrong as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. Want proof? Look at her voting record in the Senate. She's been a rubber stamp for George W. in much the same way her husband played rubber-stamp for Newt Gingrich and his conservative cronies (WTO, Contract for America, Welfare Reform). Barack pushes us forward without forgetting the past. The PRE-Clinton Democratic party. The great party that leaves us feeling proud. The party of JFK and FDR. This should not be forgotten and the politics of hope truly need to replace the politics of cynicism that have ruled over the U.S. for decades.

[Pleidian]

Can we please release all the UFO/ET information as JFK wanted? I love JFK, even though he had already been murdered when I arrived on the scene. I realise that most of this information is under illegal, private control (i'm looking in your direction Bobby Ray Inman), but WE MUST.

The world can't take more lies and suppression of energhy technologies.

[Vibrani]

Just more empty promises...words, words, words with nothing to back them up. Get some people to be manipulated and they're in a euphoric stupor shouting hurray and wanting something - but what is not clear, because Obama has never said what he will do and how he will do it, and why is he any different from dozens of politicans in the past? Nothing that I can see. I also find it very strange that Caroline suddenly publicly backs Obama, right before you do. I'm sorry, but you have betrayed women and hurt the Democratic Party by doing this.

[Orikinla]

Dear Senator Edward Kennedy,


"The loftiest poetry will not solve these issues. We need a president willing to engage in a fistfight to safeguard and restore our national virtues."

"We have worked with Hillary Clinton for 15 years (and in Kathleen's case, 25 years) and witnessed the power and depth of her convictions firsthand. We've seen her formidable work ethic, courage in the face of adversity and her dignity and clear head in crisis. We've also seen her two-fisted willingness to enter the brawl when America's principles are challenged. Her measured rhetoric, political savvy and pragmatism shield the heart of our nation's most determined and most democratic warrior."
~ By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy

Kathleen, Bob and Kerry are the true shining lights of the Kennedy Family in America and the rest of the world.

This is not the time to bear old grudges or settle old scores.

Your decision to endorse Senator Barack Obama is not based on truth, but on your romantic summation of his stagecraft, because God knows that your knowledge of him is based on mere hearsay and not on facts.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to be the next President of the United States of America.

God bless America.

[Zanti]

Cliche City, U.S. of A.

Platitudes aren't going to save our country--we need a skilled and savvy leader. So why didn't you put your support behind her?

[ilcapo]

Thank you so much,Senator Kennedy,for Obama to inspire you,a brother to a great American president and along with FDR,the heart and soul of the Democratic Party,is really quite amazing...Bill and Hillary Clinton were overall a good thing for our party,but it s time to look to the future,to turn the page...and Caroline Kennedy is such a class act,her father would be so proud.

[harald]

"He will end a war in Iraq that he has always stood against, that has cost us the lives of thousands of our sons and daughters, and that America never should have fought."

As a foreigner, I must yet again ask: are the lives of those thousands of America soldiers really worth so much more than the hundred of thousands of innocent Iraqis that we need not even mention them? Just how many dead Iraqi civilians does it take to balance one dead American soldier?

"10,000 dead is a disaster. 1,000,000 dead is statistics"?

[Weathermaker]

Few people talk about the fact that in 2008 we have Senate and House races. The Democrats should not forget this and when they vote in the presidential primaries, they should also have in mind the question "Who's the presidential candidate who can help us in the senate and house races". For me at least, the answer is quite simple: Barrack Obama. He appeals to young voters and independents. And, most of all, he doesn't have the effect Hillary has on the Republican base. Plain and simple.

[jedley]

Thank you, Senator Kennedy, not only for the endorsement, but for your impeccable timing - this will give Obama a significant push going into Super Tuesday, where HillBilly still has big leads in the polls.

There's one more thing you could do that might be even more significant than your own endorsement: urge AL GORE to join you in supporting Obama before Super Tuesday. This is not to say Gore's support is more significant than yours. It's more a matter of 1 + 1 equalling not 2 but 20.

Mr. Gore, Bill Clinton and yourself are the three eminences of the Democratic party. Your commendable rejection of Clinton's divisive campaign and your embrace of Obama's dignity and decency levels the scales nicely. But if Mr. Gore were to weigh in on our side, and in a timely fashion, those scales would tip, perhaps decisively, in our favor, sending a powerful message to the Democratic establishment that continues to support HillBilly, as well as to voters who lean toward Obama but question his 'electability'.

Thanks for listening.

[dobberdoss]

Obama aint perfect, far from it infact, who is, BUT he sure as hell better than any other with a degree of hope.

I hope he wins just for the fresh start it may bring to this country & our reputation abroad which is in dire need of a rehab clinic.

Lets hope he lives to see office without the Kennedy curse.

[IdleMinds]

Both Hillary and Obama are electable. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will win the presidency. The Republicans have waaaay too many of their own issues to start attacking others. Now lets drop the ridiculous this one can get elected but this one cant BS. I have endured of 8 horrendous years of Republican rule. I'm tired of being ashamed of my government. Lets get back to being the good guys again. Personally I'm pro Hillary but I've got no real beef with Obama either.

[Herrington]

Reposted from Comments to Caroline.

My mother packed me in the car and drove me 200 miles to a park dedication in Arkansas. She was a life long Republican. The man she took me to see was John F. Kennedy, then president, speaking at the dedication.

A year later he was gone, but will never be forgotten.

He was a dangerous man, perhaps the most dangerous of men, because he could lead through words. At age eleven I understood little of what he said, but paid as close attention as I could. It seemed important to everyone, as they were utterly silent as he spoke. Not polite silent, but paying attention silent.

This was not a man with whom you simply agreed. This was a man who painted a whole new world with which you agreed. And if you didn't, you were a criminal or a liar. How do I know this? Because even after he had finished speaking, there was still silence.

Words can move men to be better than they even know themselves to be.

[Tellmethetruth]

Ted Kennedy split the Democratic Party in 1980 to run against a sitting Democratic President Carter who Ted despised. The country got Reagan instead and 25 years of Republican dominance. Kennedy gave us Dukakis, Tsongas, and John Kerry. Kennedy opposed any Democrat from the South: LBJ, Carter, Clinton, and Gore. Did Hillary Clinton's comment on LBJ being the one who actually got the Civil Rights Act passed and not JFK or RFK send Ted up the wall?

How long to the voters West of the Mississippi have to put up with the never-ending Civil War between North and South fought ever 4 years in the Democratic party? Kennedy, please let the torch be passed - but not to another JFK impersonator.

Let the next Democrat with any Presidential potential please come from the West Coast so the country can move on.

Next time Mr. Kennedy - keep your opinion to yourself - for the sake of the Democratic party and so the torch can authentically be passed. It is written in Proverbs: "Even a fool can be wise, when they know when to be silent."