By IANS
New York : Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a veteran Democrat and younger brother of slain US president John F. Kennedy, is set to endorse Barack Obama’s presidential bid, rejecting pleas from the Clintons and their supporters to stay neutral.
The Massachusetts senator’s backing is expected to lend Kennedy charisma and connections to Obama campaign before the 22-state Feb 5 showdown for the Democratic nomination.
Kennedy, 75, a major figure in Democratic party politics for over 40 years, has agreed to actively campaign for Illinois Senator Obama. This could help him gain support among union workers and Hispanics, who are a core part of rival candidate Hillary Clinton’s supporters.
Obama, who had a wide win in South Carolina primary, could do with some help as he still trails Clinton in nationwide polls, and is behind in most of the big states that will vote Feb 5.
Both Bill and Hillary Clinton and their allies had pressed Kennedy to remain neutral in the Democratic race – as he had in past presidential races – but he had reportedly become increasingly disenchanted with the negative tone of the Clinton campaign, particularly in South Carolina primary, where former president Bill Clinton injected race in the contest.
Kennedy, who has had friendly ties with the Clintons and worked closely with Hillary, New York senator, on health care and other legislation, has called Bill Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision, media reports said.
Senator Kennedy’s endorsement, which follows a public appeal on Obama’s behalf by Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of President Kennedy, is seen a blow to the Clinton campaign and pits leading members of the nation’s most prominent Democratic families against one another.
Kennedy’s endorsement appears to support analysis that Bill Clinton’s campaigning on behalf of his wife in South Carolina has in some ways hurt her candidacy. The Clinton campaign has said his role will now be softened.
In an effort to minimise the impact of the twin Kennedy endorsements for Obama, the Clinton campaign on Sunday issued a statement of support from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor in Maryland and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, third of the Kennedy brothers who was a leading presidential candidate when assassinated in 1968.
Obama is said to have actively courted Kennedy for several years, seeking him out for Senate advice and guidance before making the decision to enter the presidential race.
After Obama took Iowa caucuses, Kennedy concluded that he had transcended racial lines and the historical divisions the Kennedy family had worked to tear down. Kennedy was also impressed at how Obama was not defined as a black candidate, but seen as a transformational figure.