The Kennedys and the Endorsements

The Kennedy's are as close to royalty in the US as you can get. And no matter what, no matter how far we are from the JFK era, their voice, and their opinion matters, and is heard by millions upon millions of people.

So when Caroline and Ted Kennedy come out and support a Presidential candidate, people listen. And I'm not quite sure if you've heard, as it hasn't at all been blasted across every news channel and website, but the Kennedys have thrown their rather hefty weight (no pun intended Ted) behind Barack Obama.

This is another big name, big ticket endorsement for Mr. Obama, along with the likes of John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano, Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, and Governor of Kansas Kathleen Sebelius, who delivered the Democratic response to the State of the Union speech last night. These are powerful figures, and throw the Kennedys on top, and you've got a tsunami of weight behind you.

There is a problem that I can see with so many important Democratic stalwarts backing Obama, and it stems from his main campaign issue, change.

The issue of change seems to be all that can be talked about during this race. Who's changed things in the past, who's prepared to make change happen in the future. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, as sung by David Bowie, is all people seem to care about, and rightly so. Eight more years of the Bush-style status quo could leave us ready to collapse.

Barack does seem best suited to bring the important and groundbreaking change to Washington, as he has not been in the town long enough to really be pulled in by the subversive undertow of it all, but are endorsements from people that have done little more than maintain the status quo for decades really what he needs to prove he is the right man for this type of job?

I do think that Obama getting these types of nods is important, as the main problem people have with him isn't the substance of his words, as it is with most politicians, but the amount of experience he brings to the table. If Americans are hearing that people they already trust, such as the Kennedys, trust this man to run the nation, lots of those fears begin to evaporate.

It is a very shrewd political move for Obama to make, as he knows he needs to allay fears of his inexperience by having lots of familiar faces shake his hand and take a picture. But he has also loaded his staff with new faces, people that can bring a fresh perspective.

I do believe in the long run these endorsements will do Obama a world of good, as long as they don't start to make people disbelieve the message of change that he is bringing.