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Kennedy Calls Obama 'New Generation Of Leadership'

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By JEFF ZELENY, The New York Times

Published: January 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - Sen. Edward Kennedy implored Americans on Monday "to turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion," as he placed the aura of the most prominent Democratic family around Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy.

At a rally here at American University, as two generations of Kennedys surrounded Obama on stage, and Caroline Kennedy and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., offered their own endorsements, Kennedy offered a fierce rebuttal to questions that Obama's rivals have raised about his experience and readiness for the job.

"He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past," Kennedy said, interrupting his speech more than once to embrace Obama. "He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in without demonizing those who hold a different view."

Kennedy plans to campaign aggressively this week for Obama in Arizona, California and New Mexico, hoping to influence voters torn between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As Kennedy's speech was shown on news channels, Clinton received a raucous reception at a rally in Massachusetts. She made no reference to being overlooked by Kennedy, and in a call with reporters, she said, "We're all proud of the people we have endorsing us."

The political blessing from Kennedy, though, was far from a routine endorsement. Controversial among Republicans, he is nonetheless influential among many Democrats and could be particularly helpful in courting older voters, union members and Latinos. All candidates, including Clinton, vigorously pursued his endorsement because of the symbolism and lore it represents.

Obama said he was humbled by the comparisons to John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

"I was too young to remember John Kennedy and I was just a child when Robert Kennedy ran for president," Obama, 46, said. "But in the stories I heard growing up, I saw how my grandparents and mother spoke about them and about that period in our nation's life as a time of great hope and achievement."

In a 20-minute address, Edward Kennedy hailed Obama's ability to transcend racial divisions. Kennedy, who associates said had become furious at the tone of the Democratic campaign, including the words and actions of former President Clinton, said Obama would usher in a new era of politics.

"With Barack Obama, there is a new national leader who has given America a different kind of campaign, not just about himself, but about all of us," Kennedy said. "A campaign about the country we will become, if we can rise above the old politics that parses us into separate groups and puts us at odds with one another."

Obama also was endorsed by author Toni Morrison, who once described Bill Clinton as America's first black president. Morrison praised Hillary Clinton, but said she was supporting Obama because of his "wisdom."

With a 22-state campaign battleground during the next week for the Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton focused criticism on President Bush's handling of the economy and foreign affairs as she addressed large crowds in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Kennedy praised Edwards and Hillary Clinton as friends, but he presented his endorsement of Obama in a deeply personal way. Seldom does he mention his brothers, both of whom were assassinated, in public appearances, but he made repeated references to them Monday.

"There was another time, when another young candidate was running for president and challenging America to cross a new frontier," Kennedy said. "He faced criticism from the preceding Democratic president, who was widely respected in the party," a reference to Harry S. Truman. "And John Kennedy replied: 'The world is changing. The old ways will not do. It is time for a new generation of leadership.'"

"So it is," he added, "with Barack Obama."

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