Richard Whalen

It would have been enough to concentrate and analyze the exit polls of Barack Obama’s overwhelming South Carolina victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton – 55 – 27 percent.

Then, the most evocative force in our politics, the Kennedy factor, entered the equation. CBS News and other news media reported that both Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) and his son Rep. Patrick Kennedy, (D-R.I.) will endorse Barack Obama at a rally at American University in Washington, D.C. today. And they will be joined by JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, who endorsed Obama in an op-ed in the yesterday’s New York Times (1/27/08).

I think that Caroline Kennedy’s endorsement is the single most important public statement by a non-candidate in the 2008 campaign. Her powerful words evoke a sense of urgency, writing quite sincerely: “I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them.” She believes Obama can change our history and has conferred the mantle of John F. Kennedy’s memory on a black American politician whose slogan is – “Yes We Can”.

Ted Kennedy’s endorsement has been highly sought after by all the Democratic candidates because of his status as a liberal icon, a member of the Kennedy dynasty and his broad national fundraising and political network, the New York Times reminds (1/27/08). A source tells CNN that Kennedy has “enormous respect and admiration for Senator Clinton but believes Senator Obama has a unique message and a unique opportunity.”

Since the wound of Dallas we all suffered almost a half century ago, we have had a sorry succession of mediocrities in our highest office -- LBJ, Nixon, Jerry Ford, Clinton and Bush I and II. Only Ronald Reagan was touched by greatness and knew how to share the lift of a driving dream with the people.

Sad then that the sole surviving child of JFK who has studiously avoided public attention comes forward and writes: “I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it, who holds himself and those around him to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream….”

Sad, too, that last year I accepted the position as Senior Advisor to David M. Abshire’s Center for the Study of the Presidency in Washington, DC. I use the word “sad” because it was necessary to create this Center. One of its missions is to “educate and inspire the next generation of America’s leaders to incorporate civility, inclusiveness and character into their public and private lives and discourse.”

The question that emerges: will the Kennedy endorsement help Obama? I think Caroline’s article gives an accurate picture of how fed up Americans are and crave change so much they are willing to give up the “old” – the Clintons – for someone who may not have as much experience but who has the “qualities of leadership, character and judgment.”

Let me hear from you.