Kennedy Endorsement Signals Shift

The sands have shifted yet again in the race for the Democratic nomination for president. After a landslide victory in South Carolina, Barack Obama is now being embraced by that dynastic family of party politics that preceded the current one. Three prominent members of the Kennedy family--Caroline, Patrick, and Ted--have decided they've had enough of the Clintons. As Political Machine's Dave Stacy reported earlier, even an impassioned series of phone calls from Bill weren't enough to keep Ted from throwing his support to the new kid on the block.

Yes, the old guard, too, seems to crave something new. But will it really matter that the most recognizable (and reviled in Republican circles) face in the Senate has broken from the once-presumptive front-runner in favor of a man whose style hearkens back to his brothers'?

Political Machine contributor, and Time magazine columnist Mark Halperin seems to think it will. Here's his handy list as to why. Of the items on Halperin's top-six reasons, number four rang the most true:

4. It sends a message to other senators and superdelegates that it is OK to be for Obama--they don't have to be afraid of the Clintons.

What has really turned off many in the party is the way Hillary has run her campaign. By utilizing a former president as a Rovian attack dog, the presidential brand has been bandied about like a cheap political plaything. In signing agreements committing Clinton to the decision of the DNC to unseat delegates from Michigan and Florida only to turn around and make a power grab for them, Hillary has signaled that she'll do anything to win. By all accounts, these calculated decisions by Camp Clinton have turned more than a few Democrats away from Hillary. Like Ted Kennedy, many party faithful have simply lost interest in the Bill and Hill show.

To be fair, however, three of Bobby Kennedy's 9 surviving children have endorsed Hillary.

For readers interested in this topic, I'll be chatting with Hot Seat fellow blogger Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters at 1 p.m. You can listen in to the live podcast here.