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Obama has three
new ads launching in Arizona, Missouri, and North
Dakota, two of which feature Sen. Claire
McCaskill and Gov. Janet Napolitano.* (Both available here.)
The ads are timed to build support (and name recognition) for
Obama in these critical states in the week running up to Super Tuesday. Putting
Obama’s message in the mouths of surrogates whom voters will recognize isn’t a bad
idea, given that many people still think Obama is an anti-American
Muslim cousin
of Saddam.
But one directorial choice surprised me: Neither ad features
Barack Obama’s voice. Instead, they have McCaskill and Napolitano narrating
over images of the senator. Not an obvious move, given
what an aesthetic asset Obama’s smoke-enriched baritone can be.
That said, having a woman’s voice instead of Obama’s
might be deliberate. Obama won the women’s vote in South
Carolina and Iowa.
But Hillary’s appeal to that demographic, particularly white women, could be
one of the greatest obstacles facing Obama in big Midwestern and Southern
states. Being introduced to Obama by a female governor—rather than some
faceless male narrator—sets a different, potentially more appealing tone.
*Correction: This article originally identified Sen. McCaskill as a governor.
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Watching Ted Kennedy share a stage with his niece Caroline, his son Patrick, and Barack Obama, I couldn’t help but think, One of these things is not like the others.
No, not like that.
The theme of Ted Kennedy’s speech here at American University, and of Caroline Kennedy’s Times op-ed, is that Obama is John F. Kennedy’s political heir. The corollary to that, however, is that the family has no political heir who shares the Kennedy name. Sure, the most prominent living Kennedy children—Caroline, Patrick, Bobby Jr., Joseph P., Kathleen, Maria Shriver—have made major contributions to government and society. But none of them have become leaders on the scale of JFK, RFK, and even Teddy.
Seeing Ted praise Obama, it felt like a father deciding to give the family business to the adopted son rather than his natural son. And that’s the point: For all the talk about Obama inheriting the Kennedy legacy, this is not a dynasty. Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama therefore flies in the face of the dynastic succession of another Clinton presidency. Symbolically, it’s a repudiation of dynasties.
“The year I was born,” Obama said in his speech, “John F. Kennedy passed the torch to his youngest brother.” For Ted Kennedy, the living symbol of American dynasty, who essentially inherited his Massachusetts Senate seat from his brother, to now pass the torch to not only a non-Kennedy but a nonestablishment figure—that’s no small statement.
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The Obama literary cartel has spoken.
Not one to let Ted Kennedy hog all the attention, Toni Morrison has added her endorsement to Obama's collection as well. The Nobel Prize-winning author and Princeton professor wrote a letter to Obama explaining her decision, saying that "in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom." Read the full letter here.
I would be remiss not to point out the Oprah connection here. No fewer than four of Morrison's books have been selected for Oprah's Book Club: Sula, The Bluest Eye, Beloved, Song of Solomon. Not to mention that Oprah played the main character in the 1998 film version of Beloved. Who's Obama's next endorser, James Frey?
In terms of influence, Morrison is no Oprah. But as perhaps the second most prominent black woman to endorse Obama, her support might suggest to black women torn between choices that Oprah's fandom is no fluke.
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Another presidency just opened up. Gordon B. Hinckley, president and "prophet" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died yesterday at the age of 97. We're always on the lookout for political omens, and this one can't be good for Mitt Romney.
That said, here's why it's only a matter of time before we have a Mormon president:
Mr. Hinckley is survived by his children, Kathleen Barnes Walker, Virginia Pearce, Jane Dudley, Richard Hinckley and Clark Hinckley; 25 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren.
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Also worth noting about the Kennedy endorsements: This is at least the third prominent political family to be publicly split among the presidential candidates.
Jesse Jackson, who himself won the South Carolina primary in 1988, criticized Barack Obama back in September for “acting like he’s white.” He hasn’t endorsed Hillary, but he and the Clintons are longtime allies. Even so, his son, Jesse Jackson Jr. cut an ad for Obama in October encouraging African-Americans to vote for him. “Obama has a heart that beats for our community,” he said.
The Bushes, too, have undergone an election season rift. Jeb Bush Jr., son of the former Florida governor, endorsed Rudy Giuliani in October and has served as chairman of Young Professionals for Rudy in the state. Meanwhile, his brother, George P. Bush, backed Fred Thompson’s prospective campaign back in June, when Thompson was the party’s shining hope. Another George W. Bush nephew, Sam LeBlond, worked for Thompson, then quit in July. Former Gov. Jeb Bush has kept quiet so far, but he’s widely believed to support Mitt Romney.
Now comes the Kathleen/Kerry/Bobby Jr. vs. Caroline/Teddy feud. Granted, everyone has gone out of their way to “respect” the decision of their relatives. But those summer retreats to Hyannis Port could get a little awkward.
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Over the weekend, Barack Obama got two Kennedys (Kennedies?) for the price of one.
First, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK, penned a gushing op-ed in the New York Times endorsing the senator from Illinois. Then on Sunday, the campaign announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy will be stumping for Obama this week.
Time's Mark Halperin offers some compelling reasons why this endorsement, unlike most, actually matters. (Kennedy commands respect among demographics Obama doesn’t—namely Hispanics, working-class Dems, and union households.)
I’ll add one more: This is a risk for Kennedy. As an all-round eminence gris with a gift for negotiating compromises, he would play a pivotal role in the relationship between a Democratic White House and the Senate. As chairman of the health, education, labor, and pensions committee, he sits at the center of any, well, health-care, education, or labor overhauls undertaken by a potential Clinton administration. Maintaining good relations is in his interest, and neutrality would have been a perfectly acceptable stance. That he rebuffed overtures from Bill Clinton makes the endorsement all the more a repudiation of his wife’s candidacy.
It doesn’t hurt that the endorsement comes after the most decisive primary win so far. Nor that Obama’s speech Saturday night drew JFK comparisons galore. Plus, don’t forget about superdelegates. Bill Clinton has reportedly been working the phones to woo party players who will have votes at the national convention in August. Kennedy no doubt has pull in this area, too. And if it comes down to a brokered convention—that hellish scenario you're secretly hoping for—Obama can use all the help he can get.
Naturally, Clinton's team greeted the news with news (sort of) of their own. On Sunday, the campaign fired off a competing statement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of Bobby Kennedy, pointing out her own support for Clinton as well as that of her brother Bobby and her sister Kerry. But if there were a formula to measure respective Kennedy influence, it would probably looking something like:
Bobby Jr. + Kerry + Kathleen + Caroline = Teddy