Andy Anderson is a junior majoring in secondary education. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Barack Obama benefited greatly from his South Carolina victory over the Clinton campaign, and recent news of the arrest of Tony Rezko appears to be playing second fiddle to another top Obama story: the endorsement of the Kennedys.
Tony Rezko, the “slum landlord” as Hillary Clinton referred to him in the South Carolina debate, was arrested last week after his bond was revoked, according to FBI reports. The Illinois real estate developer and political fundraiser has entered a plea of not guilty to several federal charges ranging from conspiracy to kickback allegations.
Sen. Obama recently called Rezko “a friend of mine and a supporter who I have known for 20 years.”
The senator is singing a different note due to recent developments and has already donated to charity the vast majority (about $80,000) of money contributed by Rezko to his election campaign.
Those attempting to block Obama’s chances at the White House have already surfaced reports that the Illinois senator purchased property from his “friend” while under investigation. Sen. Obama refers to this as a “mistake.”
But the real mistake falls into the hands of a Clinton – Bill to be exact. According to recent grapevine chitchat, it was Bill Clinton that delivered the delegates to the Obama column in South Carolina and possibly the KO punch heading into Super Tuesday for his wife. Bill Clinton’s aggressive campaigning has “fallen on deaf ears,” and South Carolinians proved this in an overwhelming vote.
The former president carries a lot of weight in the Deep South. However, in the nation’s first Southern primary, Clinton, according to exit polls, unfairly attacked Obama and spearheaded the press. This suppressed the vote for the Clinton campaign and rocked the vote for Obama.
The Illinois senator gathered 25 delegates in the January 26 contest, compared to just 12 for the Clinton camp. Surrogates of Hillary Clinton are now demanding that Bill “tone it down a bit” if the former first lady hopes to redeem herself in the Super Tuesday contests.
Sadly for Clinton fans, the Bill factor simply doesn’t stop here. If you are wondering why Rezko isn’t on the front page of every national newspaper, it is probably because the Kennedys are.
Ted Kennedy, the liberal senator from Massachusetts, had so far remained neutral in a race full of big name endorsements. After the South Carolina contest, the former first family of Democratic politics is in full force barnstorming for Obama.
The Clinton campaign could only hope that Ted Kennedy would not get involved. Upset by the turn of events in South Carolina, the well-known Democrat would be the second Kennedy to announce his support of the Illinois underdog.
So, who was the first Kennedy? Carolina, the daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, said, “I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found a man who could be that president – not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”
Congressman Patrick Kennedy, the son of the senator, is also supporting Obama.
There are two ways to view this endorsement: extremely helpful or extremely hurtful. For starters, the Kennedy name is a jewel in itself. Ted Kennedy is especially helpful where Obama is weak.
The Kennedys are powerful with Hispanics, unions and traditional yellow-dog Democrats. Obama is hurting in these categories, and a Kennedy endorsement could possibly hold the key to a Democratic nomination.
But there is also the chance that the endorsement could hurt more than help. Ted Kennedy is viewed, by many Americans, as the most liberal Democrat there is. He also has a big reputation of being attached to the Republican Party due to John McCain.
In his speech (onstage with the Kennedys), Obama said that it is time to leave the past behind. I tend to view Ted Kennedy as a thing of the past, and it will be hard for Obama to sell his theme of change to America with an idol of status quo in his corner.
Either way it goes, the endorsement will do one thing or the other. Obama will either go platinum or fall off the charts. Only time will tell.