Our Generation's John F. Kennedy

This Sunday, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, endorsed Senator Barack Obama in an editorial that appeared in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. We have found the greatest leader of our generation, and our John F. Kennedy: Senator Barack Obama. This election is about either being the party of Bill Clinton, with petty attacks and dismal results or the party of John F. Kennedy, where we reach for the stars, and achieve great things.

A President Like My Father
By Caroline Kennedy

"OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. 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.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

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 the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?ref=opinion

Senator Ted Kennedy will endorse Senator Barack Obama this week. I guess Hillary Clinton was wrong when she said comparing Kennedy and Obama didn't make sense.

To the American People

Today I come before the American people to make a promise to them about my future. I believe that it is pretty clear to me, that my path in life will probably be one of a political nature. Therefore, I have come here today to make a promise before anything could be written or said about my intentions as a politician. I promise here, that my commitment will always be with the people of this country. That I will not be bought or bossed. I will not be indentured to special interests, or political action committees. I will not take money from lobbyists or corporations. I will be committed to the people that matter: our American family.

I have been given the best this country has to offer, a great life, great schools, and a great family. I have been privileged and blessed to have the opportunities that I have had. I promise to use these opportunities for good. I want to go to work for the people left behind by government, working families, the poor, and all others that have been snubbed by a greedy and corruption political machine. I hate the fact that 37 million Americans are impoverished and 150,000 veterans are homeless. I hate the fact that there are 47 million Americans, 9 million children, do not have healthcare. I hate the fact that the gap between rich and poor, black and white, male and female, young and old, has been far too big. I will work my entire life to bridge that gap. There are people out their that are suffering. It is my responsibility, in my mind, as a patriot, to stand for these people and to fight for them until the day I die.

Maybe, it seems to early to some, for me to be making a statement of commitment at such an early age. I might be 17, but watching this election, and going around, up and down the state of Delaware, and meeting the people who have been left behind, I have become acutely aware, that there are too many people in government that have a blurred commitment to anything if at all. Too many take money from special interests, PACs, and corporations. Too many do not stand up for poor people, for working people. We have created a system where money speaks, and those with the most money speak the loudest. We have not lived up to the goal set by our founding fathers, to create and maintain a government, of the people, by the people, and for ALL the people. We have lost our way as a country, and it is time for us, together, to find the path.

We must write the last chapter in the book on discrimination. We must find a solution to our healthcare crisis, and our poverty crisis. We must make education work for all children, by investing in public schools, and making a commitment to send more kids to college this year, then any year before it. We must fight to find a cure to the diseases that are killing our world's people. We must fight to keep and create jobs, and to send Americans back to work, that are victims of unfair economic policies. We must fight to create and sustain peace in the world. We must keep America strong and safe. We must finally give the benefits to veterans that they deserve, and that are long overdue. We must fight to save our environment and be good stewards of our earth. We must work together and transcend the political divide and get things done. We must make America work for all people. We must make government work for people again. It is time, that we, as one people, stand up and fight for the future of this great nation. We must fight to level the playing field for all people and to stand together as one big American family again. It is our time. If you give me the chance to lead, I promise, I will not let you down.

-Read T. Scott