Obama Deepens Ties to Kennedy Legacy
By Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune
May 26–MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Barack Obama deepened his connection to the Kennedy legacy Sunday as he stepped in for Sen. Edward Kennedy to deliver a commencement address at Wesleyan University.
Before an audience that included Kennedy’s wife and stepdaughter, a graduating senior at Wesleyan, Obama paid tribute to the Kennedy family and sounded a call to public service in the spirit of Camelot.
"At a time of war, we need you to work for peace," Obama declared. "At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again. That’s your task, Class of 2008."
The speech, given on a picture-perfect day with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky, enveloped Obama in Kennedy imagery at a moment of dramatic transitions for both the Kennedy family and the Illinois senator’s presidential campaign.
Kennedy, who anointed Obama a worthy heir to his brothers John and Robert early in the presidential campaign, is newly diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor that inevitably raises the question of political succession.
With Kennedy unable to appear, he chose Obama as his substitute just as Obama appears on the verge of clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.
The event coincided with rival Hillary Clinton’s efforts to move beyond an awkward remark Friday that linked her determination to continue her long-shot campaign to the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Clinton said she was attempting to show that staying in the race as late as June was not unusual when she cited Robert Kennedy’s assassination in June 1968, a tragedy that transformed the campaign that year.
The reference was especially sensitive because of current security concerns for Obama. It provoked an uproar, and she apologized within hours.
Obama’s barrier-breaking candidacy and youthful, charismatic persona has frequently stirred parallels to the Kennedys. His promotion of national service has provided a thematic link as well, and at Wesleyan he promised to make it "a cause of my presidency."
Obama offered profuse praise for Edward Kennedy.
"It is rare in this country of ours that a person exists who has touched the lives of nearly every single American without many us even realizing it," the senator from Illinois said, adding, "And I have a feeling that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet."
Obama’s address also mentioned a famous Robert Kennedy quote.
"All it takes is one act of service–one blow against injustice–to send forth that tiny ripple of hope that Robert Kennedy spoke of," Obama said.
The Clinton campaign worked over the weekend to neutralize the controversy over her remark on Robert Kennedy’s assassination, with the candidate publishing an opinion piece in the New York Daily News to "set the record straight."
"I was making the simple point that given our history," she wrote, "the length of this year’s primary contest is nothing unusual."
On Sunday, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe criticized the reaction of the Obama campaign, which had said Friday that her reference to the assassination was "unfortunate."
On "Fox News Sunday," McAuliffe said: "It’s unfortunate–a hyped-up press over Memorial Day weekend, the Obama campaign inflaming it, tried to take these words out of context."
But David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, told ABC’s "This Week" that the campaign is "beyond that issue now."
Tribune correspondent Christi Parsons contributed from Washington.
mdorning@tribune.com
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