Edit: Patrick Kennedy is also backing Obama as of today ;)
From an email I got this morning:
Barack Obama inspires me.
That's why I'm about to take the stage with him here in Washington and endorse his campaign to become the next president of the United States.
It's that simple. Through Barack, I believe we will move beyond the politics of fear and personal destruction and unite our country with the politics of common purpose.
All Democrats in this race have strong ideas to address the challenges before our country. But Barack is the candidate who can inspire Americans to act and bring us together to achieve those goals -- an economy that works for everyone, health care for all, and at long last ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home.
I remember another leader who inspired the nation, especially our youth, to fulfill a promise of change. Those inspired young people marched, sat in at lunch counters, protested the war in Vietnam and served honorably in that war even when they opposed it.
That leader challenged them to ask what they could do for their country and, together, they changed the world.
So in the words of that leader, John Kennedy: "The world is changing. The old ways will not do... It is time for a new generation of leadership."
I have found that next generation of American leadership in Barack Obama.
I respect the strength, the work and dedication of two other Democrats still in the race, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. They are my friends; they have been my colleagues in the Senate. Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support.
But I believe there is one candidate whose extraordinary gifts of leadership and character match the extraordinary demands of this moment in history.
Barack will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past. He sees the world clearly without being cynical. He fights for the causes he believes in -- but refuses to demonize those who hold a different view. He's tough-minded, but he also has an uncommon capacity to appeal to "the better angels of our nature."
In Barack Obama, I see not just the audacity, but the possibility of hope for the America that is yet to be.
I love this country. I believe in the bright light of hope and possibility. I always have, even in the darkest hours. I know what America can achieve. I've seen it. I've lived it -- and with Barack Obama, we can do it again.
Sincerely,
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Disclosure: I am a member of Ted's DemocraticMajority group, which is why I received the email this morning explaining his reasons for backing Obama.
Tags: Edward Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy, Obama, Kennedys endorse Obama
