The past few weeks of campaigning, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been at war. No, not for votes, but rather, endorsements.It seems that every lobby, every activist, every government official and all of their mothers are coming out to hop on one bandwagon or the other, and soon it is likely to start a family feud. The Kennedy family, who spawned both our 35th president and one of the country’s most memorable Democratic candidates, has been picking sides since last Monday, and the rift could spark a familial civil war over who should become the next President of the United States.
It all started on January 28, when Sen. Edward Kennedy and his son Patrick both made public endorsements for Obama. Since then, Robert Kennedy Jr., and his sister Kathleen Kennedy Townsend have both endorsed Mrs. Clinton. Even Maria Shriver, a Kennedy, has come out to express her support for Obama, while her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger is publicly supporting Sen. John McCain.
However, the most startling of all connections between the candidates and the Kennedy’s has nothing to do with the Kennedy’s who are currently alive. Connections and comparisons are being made right now between the Kennedy’s of the 1950′s and 60′s and the current Democratic candidates. While there is no perfect political analogy, the similarities exist and are striking.
As anyone who follows politics can tell you, there is no shortage of media outlets and political pundits claiming that Obama is a reincarnated, African-American version of John F. Kennedy, and the connection is not far off. Obama has very high poll numbers with young voters, as did Kennedy. Likewise, Obama claims to be an agent of change, as President Kennedy was, and has similar stands on poverty, healthcare, and education. Abroad, however, is a strange coincidence, since it was Kennedy’s administration that aided the Baath Party in gaining power in Iraq, and Obama’s goals is to end that reign of power. Likewise, both Kennedy and Obama stood for a reduction in troop activity in their respective wars.
Clinton, on the other hand, is following the same path as Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy. Bobby Kennedy was born into a political machine, while Clinton married Bill to start her own. Both moved to New York and established residency after a year. Both went on to win a Senate seat while being an outsider. Both were loved by New Yorkers as Senators, and both started their campaigns for President and watched their popularity drop. Both were called “ruthless and unprincipled,” and were known for their intensity and vigor. Clinton also claims to be an agent of change, as Bobby Kennedy did, and both stood for minority rights and interests. It should come as no surprise that United Farm Workers has endorsed Clinton, when their founder Cesar Chavez was a proud supporter of Kennedy.
The scariest part of these analogies has yet to be seen. Both of the Kennedy brothers were brought down at the height of their popularity, and are ingrained into the American memory as martyrs of the American democratic dream. Both men died while serving our nation, in their respective fashions.
It is very bad karma, in a manner of speaking, to show this startling similarity between the Kennedy’s and the candidates, but history does have a way of repeating itself. Are we to expect that either candidate will be brought down by the actions of others? Are these two candidates, who are making history just as the Kennedy’s did, going to wither away into the American memory as an “almost” icon?
We can only hope that they shake loose the bonds of history, but with the number of Kennedy connections increasing with every endorsement and the battle between both candidates, and the Kennedy family, bad luck seems to be the only kind of luck fate wishes to bestow on the Democratic Party.
About Sean J. Palmer
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