by Mike Dorning
Another member of the Kennedy pantheon is now behind Barack Obama.
Ethel Kennedy, widow of Bobby Kennedy, announced her support for Obama today, comparing the Illinois senator to her late husband.
“Barack is so like Bobby, who struggled for the rights of the poor in the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, traveled to California to stand in solidarity with Cesar Chavez and farm workers, and fought to end another war that cost so many lives,” Kennedy said in a statement released by the Obama campaign.
“Over these past few years, I’ve watched Senator Obama inspire Americans from all walks of life to believe in real change and a new sense of hope and possibility. He’s a magnetic force, drawing the nation together for the common good and galvanizing us all to help shape our country’s future,” Kennedy added.
Obama said in a statement he “was humbled to read Mrs. Kennedy’s statement. Few people hold such a cherished place in the hearts of Americans, and it’s an extraordinary honor to have her support.”
Ethel has clearly been impressed with Obama for some time. When Obama was invited in November 2005 to speak at a commemoration of Bobby Kennedy’s 80th birthday, she referred to Obama as “our next president.”
“I think he feels it. He feels it just like Bobby did,” Mrs. Kennedy said in an interview with the Tribune that day, comparing her late husband’s quest for social justice to Mr. Obama’s. “He has the passion in his heart. He’s not selling you. It’s just him.”
She now completes a trio of the best-known surviving Kennedys to publicly endorse Obama.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), sole surviving brother to John and Robert Kennedy and guardian of the family’s political legacy, endorsed Obama on Monday at a raucous rally in Washington D.C. Caroline Kennedy, President Kennedy’s sole surviving child, endorsed Obama the day before with an article in the New York Times entitled “A President Like My Father.”
Edward Kennedy has been campaigning this weekend for Obama in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Caroline Kennedy is touring California for Obama with Oprah Winfrey and Obama’s wife Michelle.
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Still, several of Robert and Ethel Kennedys children have announced support for Hillary Clinton. Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Kathleen Kennedy Tonwnsend and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo all have endorsed Clinton.