Ted, Caroline and Patrick Kennedy Endorse Obama

Ted Kennedy along with Caroline and Patrick Kennedy appeared together on Monday in Washington to endorse Barack Obama and clearly seemed to enjoy Obama's speech up close.

The presence of Caroline for the announcement trumps John Kerry's endorsement of Obama by having someone involved that is still relevant to the party and very much beloved. If you watched the broadcast on any of the cable news networks, the presence of Patrick Kennedy was to provide loud clapping in Barack Obama's right ear in order to test his ability to concentrate on the speech.

In a CNN article Obama said that he would work to carry on the vision Ted Kennedy's brother, laid out when he was president. Since some of that vision lies firmly in the hands of the Republicans, maybe Bill Clinton wasn't too far off with his remarks about Obama's complementing of the Republicans.

It doesn't really matter that John Kennedy was far to the right of the contemporary Democratic Party and even to the right of former California Governor Ronald Regan, because most of what Obama is saying right now is "We Can" and "Stand for Change". What it is we can do and what the change is that we may be standing for is still not as clear as many people would like it to be. One thing about Obama is clear though; he will have the ability to get people involved in public service, politics or their country in general. Caroline Kennedy sees that quality of her father in Obama and I believe to most watching that is not only moving but undeniable.

In the long run having the endorsement of Ted Kennedy and Patrick Patches Kennedy could be a liability in a general election. There is enough accumulated controversy with Ted and Patrick on board to sink Molly Brown riding in a Boston Whaler at ebb tide. But you can't run in the general election unless you win the nomination and this may be the right thing at the right moment. Just don't be surprised if you see all but Caroline fade in the background of Obama's campaign should Obama win the nomination.

The real fun to watch is a rumored deal with the Edwards campaign about future employment with the Obama team. Maybe this deal had been around before John Kerry spurned his former running mate and endorsed Obama. If Kerry had been an insider on the deal, then he really didn't do anything rotten to John Edwards after all.

The Clinton's will be composed about the news, probably at least until tomorrow. Then watch for Bill Clinton engaging in a campaign to sling mud at just the right Kennedy in an attempt to create a rift between the Kennedy's supporting Obama and the Kennedy's, like former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Bobby Kennedy, who support Hillary. Like WWII however, fighting a battle on two fronts can be costly and ultimately end up in defeat, especially against a clan like the Kennedy's.