Barack Obama, who picked up the much-needed victory in South Carolina Presidential primary, has received another endorsement. This time, from Caroline Kennedy, daughter of charismatic former United States President John F Kennedy.
"My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined," says the daughter of the popular leader, who was assassinated in November 1963.
"It isn't that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country just as we did in 1960," Kennedy said while supporting the African-American candidate in an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times.
"All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F Kennedy was president, and who ask me how to live out his ideals," she wrote.
Though the backing of a Kennedy may not carry too much of political weight, yet it is a major psychological boost to the Obama campaign, as it now starts preparing for Super Duper Tuesday. On February 5, nearly two dozen states including the delegate-rich ones like Ohio, Illinois, New York and California are up for grabs.
The backing of former President Kennedy's daughter comes at a time when another Kennedy, the veteran Senator from Massachusetts, is seen as being on the verge of making a decision on supporting a Democratic candidate.
Edward Kennedy, it has been reported, has been privately critical of the manner in which the Clinton campaign has gone ahead, especially the fiery style of former President Bill Clinton.
Senator Kennedy's colleague from the state Senator John Kerry, the Democratic Presidential candidate in 2004, is backing Senator Obama.
"Sometimes it takes a while to recognise that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we
can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible. We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama," Caroline said.
Obama was expected to win in South Caroline but not with the kind of margins that he posted on Saturday night. He trounced Clinton by a two to one margin, securing 55 per cent of the vote to Clinton's 27 per cent.
Obama also indirectly took a shot at Senator Clinton.
"We are up against conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House. But we know that real leadership is about candour, and judgment, and the ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common purpose - a higher purpose," the Senator from Illinois said
