Looking Back: Ted Kennedy’s Role in the 2008 Democratic Primary

There’s no question that Ted Kennedy’s backing of the inexperienced Barack Obama in 2008 gave him credibility as a presidential candidate. Politico’s Smith and Martin go a step or two further; Early on in their post titled Ted Kennedy’s Legacy Shapes Obama’s Path, they declare:

Kennedy's endorsement may have won Obama the nomination. His legacy, health care legislation, has already shaped Obama's presidency, and Obama will deliver a eulogy at Kennedy's funeral Saturday. But it wasn't until the last minute, in late January 2008, that Kennedy decided to take sides at all - throwing himself into a hard-fought primary between two of his friends, Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Reading this piece opens old wounds from the primary, especially those born by Hillary Clinton supporters. It’s a reminder of a series of betrayals by supposed friends of the Clintons including Bill Richardson and John Edwards, as well as Ted Kennedy.

Richardson and Edwards, I’m sure, had their own motives, but I agree with Cinie at Cinie’s World that Ted Kennedy was most concerned to keep the family myth of Camelot alive, as in “Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”

Smith and Martin also highlight the Kennedy family's aim to anoint Obama as the boy king who pulls the sword from the stone:

The family had decided to go all out, to make explicit a passing of its legacy to an outsider, after decades of searching for an heir inside the clan. On stage at American University that Monday with Caroline and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), the senator, too, referred to passing the torch and echoed his famous 1980 Democratic National Convention promise that "the dream shall never die."

And who can forget Caroline Kennedy’s well-timed op-ed in the NY Times, “A President Like My Father.”

Since Ted Kennedy’s death on Tuesday evening tributes have been pouring in for this man who served honorably as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts for many years. And it is befitting that his home state is leading the nation in its mourning.
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It is surprising to recall, though, that in a quirky turn in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton won the state of Massachusetts – despite endorsements of Obama by both Sen. Kerry and Sen. Kennedy, and Gov. Deval Patrick.

The Kennedy magic also failed in delegate-rich California. Concerned to steal the women’s vote from Clinton, the Obama campaign featured appearances by Caroline Kennedy; Arnie Schwarzenegger’s wife, Maria Shriver; and even Oprah. The voters said, “No dice,” and Hillary won again.

Hillary is still winning, by the way, as her job approval as secretary of state remains in the 70s, and she’s recently been credited with revolutionizing American foreign policy.

Secretary of State Clinton on Ted Kennedy’s Death

By Hillary Clinton

Today I join all Americans in mourning the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, one of our nation's finest statesmen and a dear friend. My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy's wife Vicki, his children, grandchildren, and all the members of the extended Kennedy family.

For five decades, Senator Kennedy was at the heart of our greatest debates, serving on the front lines of democracy. With optimism and courage, he helped us meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of our times. He was a champion for women and families, for health care, education, civil rights and the environment. He inspired generation after generation of young Americans to enter public service, to stand up for justice and to fight for progress. And he was a legislator without peer, who understood both when to stand his ground and when to seek out the common ground on which compromise and progress is built.

When I was First Lady, we worked together to provide health insurance for America's children. When I arrived in the Senate, he was a generous mentor and a thoughtful colleague. We worked together to raise the minimum wage, improve education, and champion the cause we shared so deeply: ensuring that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. And as Secretary of State, I valued his counsel on how to make America a force for peace and progress around the world.

I will always treasure the memory of his friendship and the time we spent together, from the Massachusetts waters he loved so much, to the floor of the Senate that will feel empty without his booming voice and broad smile.

We have lost Ted, but his life's work will shape our nation for years to come. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans who are freer, healthier, and more prosperous because of his efforts. As he said, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009 (Photos and Video)

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) attends a White House forum on health care reform in March 2009.

The LA Times offers a slide show of 32 photos of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who died yesterday evening, plus a timeline of Sen. Kennedy's career; a graphic showing the Kennedy family tree; a video: "Ted Kennedy Remembered;" and another video, "Obama on Kennedy." For all the above and more, go here.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Dies Tuesday Evening

Senator Edward M. Kennedy worked on his remarks before a Patient's Bill of Rights rally at the Capitol in 2001. (Courtesy of the NY Times)

I’d gone to bed early, but unable to go to sleep I turned on my TV at about 1:00 a.m. (CST) to learn that Ted Kennedy, the 77-year-old senator from Massachusetts died late Tuesday evening. By the time I went online, word of Kennedy’s death was all over the Internet. John M. Broder at the NY Times reports:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died Tuesday night. He was 77.

The death was announced Wednesday morning in a statement by the Kennedy family.

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port,” the statement said. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

Mr. Kennedy had been in precarious health since he suffered a seizure in May 2008 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. His doctors determined the cause had been a malignant glioma, a brain tumor that often carries a grim prognosis.

Read more:

Reappointment of Bernanke Fails to Upstage Breaking Economic News

As David Gergen at AC360 points out, our vacationing president reappointed Ben Bernanke today as head of the Federal Reserve in an obvious attempt to divert attention from bad news on the economic front.

Gergen writes:

Yet even the Bernanke story cannot fully deflect attention from the other economic story engulfing the administration today: its official announcement of new economic projections – in particular, its acknowledgment that deficits over the coming decade will be even higher than it said only three months ago. Now, the administration is predicting that instead of $7 trillion in new deficits, the country will rack up a staggering $9 trillion in new deficits for the 2010-2019 period. (The Congressional Budget Office has published its own numbers today that are largely parallel.)

Deficits of that magnitude would be extraordinarily dangerous and irresponsible for the country. They would double the national debt, risk much higher inflation, saddle future taxpayers with annual interest payments of over $900 billion, make us even more reliant upon China as a creditor, and over time would weaken us as a great nation. Talk about trend lines that are unsustainable!

Health care reform was already in growing trouble before this report. These deficit projections clearly add another significant threat to its passage. The administration will now have to persuade Congress and a skeptical public that it would be financially prudent to embark upon an ambitious new entitlement program in the teeth of dangerously growing deficits.

Gergen suggests a way out for the president:

In view of all this, President Obama has a choice. He can push forward with health reform efforts, giving short shrift to these deficit concerns. If so – if he continues to insist that Washington is just too “wee-weed up” — he will find that some of his strongest allies will become more reluctant on a big health reform bill this year.

Or he can come to grips with these grim forecasts and present to the nation a credible, comprehensive plan for reining in long-term deficits before Congress acts on health reform. The second path demands more courage – and is also the one of real leadership.

Secretary Clinton Quietly Revolutionizes American Foreign Policy

In today’s Washington Post, David Rothkopf offers a must-read column on how Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is revolutionizing American foreign policy despite the daily onslaught of sexism and misogyny issuing from our dangerously immature and ill-informed media.

Rothkopf points out:

Clinton is not the first celebrity to become the nation's top diplomat -- that honor goes to her most distant predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, who by the time he took office was one of the most famous and gossiped-about men in America -- but she may be the biggest. And during her first seven months in office, the former first lady, erstwhile presidential candidate and eternal lightning rod has drawn more attention for her moods, looks, outtakes and (of course) relationship with her husband than for, well, her work revamping the nation's foreign policy.

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Note: Rothkopf is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of "Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making" and "Running the World: The Inside Story of the NSC and the Architects of American Power.”

Obama’s Poll Numbers Slipping Among Democrats, Liberals, and Independents

President Obama’s poll numbers are slipping in recent polls by the Washington Post/ABC and the Daily Kos’ Research 2000 not only from independents but also among Democrats and liberals. Greg Sargent’s blog at the Plum Line has the details here and here.