The New York Times-20080129-Kennedy Backs Obama With -Old Politics- Attack

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Kennedy Backs Obama With 'Old Politics' Attack

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Senator Edward M. Kennedy implored Americans on Monday to turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion, as he placed the aura of the most prominent Democratic family around Senator Barack Obama's candidacy.

At a rally here at American University, as two generations of Kennedys surrounded Mr. Obama on stage, and Caroline Kennedy and Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, offered their own endorsements, Mr. Kennedy offered a fierce rebuttal to questions that Mr. Obama's rivals had raised about his experience and readiness for the job.

He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past, Mr. Kennedy said, interrupting his speech more than once to embrace Mr. Obama. He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in without demonizing those who hold a different view.

Mr. Kennedy plans to campaign this week for Mr. Obama in Arizona, California and New Mexico, hoping to influence voters torn between Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

As Mr. Kennedy's speech was shown on news channels, Mrs. Clinton received a raucous reception at a rally in Massachusetts. She made no reference to being overlooked by Mr. Kennedy, and in a call with reporters, she said, We're all proud of the people we have endorsing us.

The political blessing from Mr. Kennedy, though, was far from a routine endorsement. Controversial among Republicans, he is nonetheless influential among many Democrats and could be particularly helpful in courting older voters, union members and Latinos. All candidates, including Mrs. Clinton, vigorously pursued his endorsement because of the symbolism and lore it represents.

Mr. Obama said he was humbled by the comparisons drawn with John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

I was too young to remember John Kennedy and I was just a child when Robert Kennedy ran for president, Mr. Obama, 46, said. But in the stories I heard growing up, I saw how my grandparents and mother spoke about them and about that period in our nation's life as a time of great hope and achievement.

In a 20-minute address, Mr. Kennedy hailed Mr. Obama's ability to transcend racial divisions. Mr. Kennedy, who associates said had become furious by the tone of the Democratic campaign, including the words and actions of former President Bill Clinton, said Mr. Obama would usher in a new era of politics.

With Barack Obama, there is a new national leader who has given America a different kind of campaign, not just about himself, but about all of us, Mr. Kennedy said. A campaign about the country we will become, if we can rise above the old politics that parses us into separate groups and puts us at odds with one another.

Mr. Obama also was endorsed by the author Toni Morrison, who once described Mr. Clinton as America's first black president. Ms. Morrison praised Mrs. Clinton but said she was supporting Mr. Obama because of his wisdom.

With a 22-state campaign battleground over the next week for the Democratic candidates, Mrs. Clinton focused criticism on President Bush's handling of the economy and foreign affairs as she addressed large crowds in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She did not mention the names of her rivals, Mr. Obama or former Senator John Edwards, as she reminded voters that she, too, would make history if elected.

I will bring to the White House my perspective as a daughter, a wife and a mother, because that's never been in the White House before, she said. I know what it's like to have to be at work and your baby wakes up sick. I know what it's like when the baby sitter calls in sick. I know what it's like when the appointment you thought would be done when your child gets out of school isn't done and keeps on going.

Mrs. Clinton returned to Washington for the State of the Union address, an occasion filled with more political theater than usual because of the endorsements and the fact that she would be in the room with Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Obama.

Mr. Kennedy praised Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Clinton as friends, but he presented his endorsement of Mr. Obama in a deeply personal way. Seldom does he mention his brothers, both of whom were assassinated, in public appearances. But he made repeated references to them.

There was another time, when another young candidate was running for president and challenging America to cross a new frontier, Mr. Kennedy said. He faced criticism from the preceding Democratic president, who was widely respected in the party, a reference to Harry S. Truman. And John Kennedy replied: 'The world is changing. The old ways will not do. It is time for a new generation of leadership.'

So it is, he added, with Barack Obama.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: Senator Barack Obama after the Kennedys' endorsements yesterday at American University in Washington. (PHOTOGRAPH BY DAMON WINTER/THE NEW YORK TIMES); Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking at a rally yesterday at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. (PHOTOGRAPH BY TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES)