Outstanding news.

Congratulations to Obama. Good endorsement!

Is it really? How many Obama posters here would change their vote to Clinton if Kennedy endorsed her. Candidates collect these like strings of beads but unless they come with an organization they aren't really worth much. The most recent poll I've see out of MA has Clinton ahead over 30%. Are these folks going to turn on a dime because Ted says so. And I'd say just the same if he was endorsing Clinton. Most of these endorsements merely serve to reinforce the beliefs of the already converted.  

Clinton supporters = people looking to latch on to the "inevitable" candidate, and those who owe the Clinton's political favors.

Obama supporters = those people who know that he is our best chance to win in November and most likely to bring in support to form the widest possible coalition.

DJ is a very typical Obama supporter I'd say. Somewhat emotionally overwrought judging by the tenor of his comments.

No doubt Caroline was talking directly to Uncle Ted when she wrote:

As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents' grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

In her endorsement of Obama, Claire McCaskill talked directly of how she was pushed over the edge by her daughter's enthusiasm.  The idealism of youth will be a major influence throughout this election, both in their active participation and in the effect they have on their parents and grandparents.

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Come on Al Gore.

this was leaked by the clinton camp to kill the announcement- no class.

i have not been as disappointed in two people as i have been with the clintons in these past weeks.

i do so hope that fVP Gore decides to endorse Sen. Obama.

This is huge!! and I think Massachusetts will narrow very soon.

Should Al Gore endorses Obama, this would be a game changer as someone who works with the Clintons for 8 years in the Whitehouse to rebuke her like that. So much for I am more experienced argument.

Congrats to the true establishment candidate.

TK is a good endorsement for Obama-superdelegates. TK's a good man. I respect him a great deal. But TK isn't Moses, nor is Obama Jesus. TK can't make voters choose Obama. In the end, the voters will make their own personal decision. I am extremely confident in Hill's experience, in depth knowledge of the issues, and her strategy for making CHANGE happen, not HOPING for it. Fortunately, for Hill, she's got a good shot at the DEM NOM and I'm happy with her position at this point. Anyone insinuating that because TK endorsed Obama that this thing is over is DELUSIONAL.

  Obama needed this.  The polls show him losing Massachusetts by 30 points.  It should be more competitive now.

Haha. All I have to say is many bad words about the Clintons. I'll keep it to that level.

The super tueday polls mean nothing because so many voters are undecided and tell polls half-truths.

It's great when ARG has Clinton down by 3 the day before the primary. ooops.. The flawless SurveyUsa had Obama up by  15 points or so..ooops there.

Here's a question...why are so many key Dems endorsing Obama over a former first lady (and, let's face it, former president) who they've worked with for years and seems strongly favored to win the nomination? Sure, maybe they are just getting on board with the Obama buzz, but these guys are, after all, politicians.

I can understand the Red State endorsements of Napolitano and McCaskill, but why Kerry, Kennedy, and Leahy?

This is the biggest endorsement to date for Obama, because this one could actually win him a state.

BTW: How can anybody call O.B. the outsider when all of Washington seems to have endorsed him?

Obama needed this more than Clinton did. It's obviously a good endorsement for him. Still we've seen from the Primary season edorsements can be overhyped. Clinton got the Des Moines Register and came in third in Iowa. Obama got both of  NH's representatives and the Boston Globe and lost New Hampshire. He also got the Service Workers union and lost Nevada. People haven't been paying much attension to endorsements. Now Teddy is big, but I think more so from an organizational perspective than from people changing their minds just because he picked Obama. People will make up their own minds, and some ideas will concider Teddy's endorsement as one factor. NY and NJ are virtual locks for Clinton. MA even with this endorsement is no lock for Obama.

The Liberal Lion has roared. And he roars for Obama. hehe!!

but seriously Obama begun a slow process of ratification by the Democratic establishment shortly after Iowa, and now it seems the flood gates have been kicked wide open.  Also what does this say about the Clinton's? After all these years of knowing the Clinton's, Ted Kennedy chose to go with Obama. WOW!

So it's official. Kennedy is in. Will Gore be next?

That's 2 out of the 4 big ones for Obama.

Kennedy & Kerry for Obama.

Clark for Clinton.

Gore remains.

Clark was a big one? I hardly thought so,lol

Barack Obama is like the top prospect on a baseball team. Has a world of potential. However he's being blocked by a very effective veteran at the position.

Do the Democrats essentially trade their veteran star for a guy who has potential to be better?

Obama's time will come. Democrats smell blood and see Obama as their best chance to win in November. They see Obama as their savior. As their Reagan. As their guy who is going to transform the face of electoral politics for the next ten years.

Guys like Obama don't come around every year, and while I'm leaning towards Hillary (I'm skeptical on the whole hope message, don't want to be let down and don't want the country to pick the wrong person. I like Bill Clinton regardless of the smear against him and having him back in the White House is a positive for me not a negative) but i understand the calls of the party for a change in the leadership at the top.

If not in 08, he'll be the guy in 2012 (Hillary is very beatable in the General). It's exciting because who do the Republicans have? John Kerr.. I mean Mitt Romney?

What young charismatic guy do the GOP have? It's a shame that the primary has become such an issue of race.. because we really do have the best candidates and each one should be a part of the next Democratic administration.

Ted Kennedy is trying to relive 1980 through Barack Obama.  Of course, Obama has a better chance of being the nominee than Fat Teddy ever did.

Otto: I am an HRC supporter, but Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Deval Patrick have all come out for Obama. If it happened for my candidate, I would say "close up shop, Obama."

Massachusetts just got a lot closer IMO.

Falcon: Love the analogy and you being a baseball fan (like myself) know that the youth usually wins out and the veteran is traded.

The other possibility is that the prospect is traded (in this case his voters are pissed and stay home) and then he (they) come back to terrorize the team that traded them.

I just wish that we had an Obama or HRC in 2004 and not be forced to choose between the best 2-3 candidates we have had since 1996. Spend it out in other words.

You know, for a week and a half, we heard how much Clinton was in Obama's head.  I'm starting to think the exact opposite:

1)  Bill Clinton viewed himself as a liberal transformational figure.  Obama's remarks to the Reno paper, quite frankly, pissed him off.

2)  Bill Clinton viewed himself as a spokesperson of the AA community.  Obama's overwhelming support among AAs in South Carolina may put an end to this and the bitter Jesse Jackson comparison seemed to be him lashing out against him.

3)  Now this.  Bill Clinton viewed himself as the heir to the Kennedy's (the famous Boy's Town picture was a major part of his 92 myth making).

Clinton's anger isn't necc. against Obama, it is about his legacy being eclipsed.

That when the campaign is elsewhere, the polls show a significant Hillary lead. But once people see the candidates up close, the lead is either shaved down to a couple points or erased completely. This is what has happened in every state thus far. Hillary was winning SC by 20 points weeks ago, and ends up losing by almost 30.

Dixiecrats just like old Strom. Give me a break.

The Clintons have chosen to make themselves dixiecrats

W.O.W.

There must be a fire sale on hyperbole somewhere.

Ted kennedy has been in the senate for 45 years. This makes Obama the establisment candidate. You can not get more establishment than Kennedy. It is really laughable for Obama to claim to be an outsider. Between Kennedy and kerry th MA twins they have 70 years of Washington. Senator Obama is "Hoodwinking" and "Bamboozling" the electorate.

Just a reminder.  Ted Kennedy ran against Carter in the Dem primary, then, when he lost the nomination to Carter, refused to endorse him, which no doubt had some effect on Carter's loss.  This did not go over at all well with Democrats. Then, before Iowa'04, Ted Kennedy endorsed Kerry.  How much influence this had in turning votes away from Dean is open to debate.  But we do remember how the '04 general election turned out for Kerry, don't we?  And Kerry has endorsed Obama, too.  Those of us who opposed the nomination of Kerry, because we were fairly certain he would lose, are unlikely to forget Ted Kennedy's hand in this...and over time a number of other events.  So while I think Kennedy's endorsement might help Obama some in Massachusetts, it may have either no effect or a negative one in the rest of the country.

Has anyone ever done a good study on exactly how much endorsements actually effect a political race?

Check Mark Ambinder.  She's about to endorse Obama.

Sebelius garners headlines here in KC and not only has an effect in the KS caucus, but a significant effect on the KC media.

Really, really big get for Obama.

This statement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was just released by the Clinton campaign:

"I respect Caroline and Teddy's decision but I have made a different choice. While I admire Senator Obama greatly, I have known Hillary Clinton for over 25 years and have seen first hand how she gets results. As a woman, leader, and person of deep convictions, I believe Hillary Clinton would make the best possible choice for president. She shares so many of the concerns of my father. Hillary has spent a lifetime speaking out on behalf of the powerless and working to alleviate poverty, in our country and around the world. I have seen her work up close and know she will be a great President. At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton."

Isn't one of Obama's raps on Clinton that she is old Washington, that she's been around too long, that long-lived Washington pols are what is wrong with the country?  How does that square with who Kennedy is.

My own opinion (which may be bunk) is that the JFK branch of the Kennedy's do want another family to have 2 presidents. They are the Dems premiere political dynasty. They expected that to happen to them and if not for the tragedy of Bobby's assassination, it probably would have. They are jealous of that legacy.

Meanwhile the Bobby branch of the Kennedy's has endorsed Hillary.

I think the Caroline Kennedy endorsement will be a bigger boost to Obama.  Especially do those of us driking the "Kool-Aid" as I am told on this page so many times...

And while I think the Kathleen Kennedy Townsend endorsement is nice, I don't think any Clinton supporter, even the ones here on MY DD would tell me that they rather have Kathleen then Ted and/or Caroline.  It seems that no mater who endorses Obama, the Clinton supporters here attack it as not being so great....

Please....  Ted Kennedy is a big endorsement.  As was Kerry. As was McCaskill. As will be (TBA)