At Obama Inaugural, Caroline Kennedy and Oprah Share Their Reactions

My friend and former Sun-Times colleague was there at the inaugural and got to speak with Oprah and Caroline Kennedy. Here's the top of her report:

Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy share Obama inauguration thoughts with Lynn Sweet
By Lynn Sweet on January 20, 2009 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
WASHINGTON--"It means everything." That's what Oprah Winfrey--sitting down the row from Caroline Kennedy-- told me when we chatted about attending the inauguration of President Obama just before the ceremony.
One of the hottest VIP sections at the presidential inauguration was just below the West Capitol steps, with Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy, Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lewis and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, among others.
I asked Winfrey what it meant for her to be at the inauguration. During the Democrat primary last year Winfrey jumped into partisan politics by fund-raising for and stumping with Obama and wife Michelle.
"It means everything. It means everything and more and everything. It's like no moment I ever expected to experience.
"I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. It's beyond. It's sacred. You know I feel both celebrative and like celebratory and also very sobered by it. That's how I feel."
I asked Kennedy--who may land inside the Capitol in a matter of days if New York Gov. Dave Patterson taps her to replace Secretary of State Designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton--about witinessing the inauguration. Kennedy jumped into the public political arena big time last year when she started campaigning for Obama during the Democratic primary.
"It's so exciting for everyone." Kennedy said. "I am thrilled to be here. I can't wait to see and hear his speech. It's such a wonderful day."

Video: Ted Kennedy Collapse at Obama Inaugural, Battling Brain Cancer But He Revives Soon

Caroline Kennedy Sweepstakes: VIDEO: The Dynasty Issue - Of Kennedy Kings and Queens and What an Irish Chieftain Means Today

Dynasty! Monarchy! Shades of Camelot! The casting of the Kennedys as some kind of American royalty has always struck me as a bit ironic. JFK's great-grandfather as Irish Catholic immigrant worker who died of cholera. His grandfather was a local pol whose mother ran a tavern. If not for his wily old man, who made a fortune in booze, stocks and real estate tips from the NY archdiocese, John F. Kennedy probably never would have been president. (Hence, the title of my book, "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings," refers both to that miscast Camelot label perpetuated by the late Theodore H. White in recalling JFK soon after his assassination, and even more so to the idea of a Irish chieftain and that kind of clannish character that the Kennedys brought to American politics.
(If you're looking for a Christmas 'best book' buy at the last minute, why not read all about it? Sorry for the commercial!)
So, my friends, the Senate bid of Caroline Kennedy is bringing up the old dynasty concerns again. The idea of this Camelot princess suddenly deigning to ask for the Senate seat, as if claiming a family heirloom, a political crown just waiting to be placed on her head, is rightfully galling to all the democratic Republicans in the land. But is that really a fair charge?
After all, Caroline Kennedy came of age as a New York politician by directly and quite publicly opposing the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton, the heir to the Clinton political legacy. (All this makes you wonder what office Chelea Clinton may be eyeing down the road!) And she backed the presidential bid of an African-American first-term Senator who clearly seemed a long shot this time last year. The election of Obama to the highest office in the land is hardly the act of dynastic politics -- quite the contrary. So Caroline Kennedy doesn't seem monarchist but someone who, late in life, may have found something about herself that she didn't know existed -- that in a family full of politicians, she may prove to be one of the most surprising of all.

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VIDEO - Caroline Kennedy: Will She or Won't She? Only Her Governor Knows For Sure; She Breaks Bread with Rev. Al

How many more cheap puns can headline writers make out of the political roundabout involving Caroline Kennedy's Senate bid? (Actually, the press hope this goes on forever!) But will Gov. Patterson, at this late stage, risk the wrath of the Kennedys and many of their NY followers (not to speak of the new incoming President Obama) by rejecting JFK's daughter? Seems unlikely to this blogoskeptic and Kennedy historian. Just look at the glee in this report:

Sweet and Sour Caroline: Is NY the new battle scene between Obama and Hillary loyalists? See Video and Analysis

So are we going to see a little skirmish between the Obama crowd and the Hillary loyalists over her soon-to-be departed Senate seat? Can Caroline Kennedy be denied?
Mmmm, it seems unlikely, no matter how unfair or inappropriate, that JFK's only daughter will be stopped in her desire to become the next U.S. Senator from New York. There's a scene in the new documentary "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings," where Caroline's uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, addressed some of the same kind of carpetbagger charges in his 1964 race against Republican incumbent Kenneth Keating.

What's deeply ironic here is that Caroline Kennedy was an early and prominent support for Sen. Barack Obama -- which helped to convince her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, to do the same. It was a big blow to Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidential nomination. I wonder if Hillary had won the presidency, would Caroline Kennedy still be in line for this job?

Caroline Kennedy as NY Senator? Her Entry in Politics Was Predicted in "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings"

Caroline Kennedy's reported interest in the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton's is a remarkable turn of events. As you can see in the newly-updated version of my 2008 book "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings," -- now out with its own Warner Bros. documentary -- I underlined the potential that Caroline Kennedy someday follow the political legacy of her father, President John F. Kennedy. My sources during the research of this book told me that they felt Caroline might step forward, out of the reclusiveness favored by her mother, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and enter the political arena where she'd be embraced as JFK's heir. Apparently, her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has indicated to the Times he's not interested at this moment in the Senate seat.
Here's what I said in my book about Caroline Kennedy, her interest in politics and public service, and the role of the Kennedy women in this generation of the family:

JFK's Legacy and the Cultural Meaning of the Kennedys: Preface from the New Edition of "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings"

Here is the new 2008 preface to "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings." It's been released with a new Warner Home video documentary based on the book, sold along with Oliver Stone's "JFK" feature film.

Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that immigrants were America.
—historian Oscar Handlin (as quoted by John F. Kennedy in A Nation of Immigrants)

The 2008 presidential campaign offered many reminders for Sen. Edward Kennedy of the barriers his brother faced in 1960, becoming the first and only U.S. president from a minority background. With a sign from Dunganstown, Ireland hanging in his Senate office, a reminder of the famine-ravished farm where his ancestors began, Ted always seemed to understand that the Kennedys were perhaps America’s greatest immigrant story -- overcoming religious, ethnic and cultural barriers to reach once unimaginable heights.
“ My brother Jack wrote ‘A Nation of Immigrants’ in 1958, and his words ring true as clearly today as they did half a century ago,” said Ted, a few months before he was struck with a malignant brain tumor. “I’m constantly reminded of my immigrant heritage.” Indeed, the Kennedys’ vision of “A Nation of Immigrants” had transformed America forever.
Throughout 2008, presidential candidates from various minority backgrounds invoked the Kennedy name as a constant touchstone. The first major female candidate for president, Sen. Hillary Clinton, drew endorsements from Robert Kennedy's children, including Kathleen and Bobby Jr. The first major candidate from a Hispanic background, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, echoed JFK in proclaiming, “We are a nation of immigrants.'' In a speech to allay concerns about his Mormon religion, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney harkened back to JFK’s famous 1960 speech before the Houston ministers, when many were fearful of a Catholic in the White House.
Most notably, Barack Obama, the U.S. Senator from Illinois, possessed a style and dignity particularly reminiscent of the Kennedy era. "People always tell me how my father inspired them,” said JFK’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, in her endorsement. “I feel that same excitement now. Barack Obama can lift America and make us one nation again." At a key moment in the primary campaign, Ted Kennedy publicly supported Obama who, in turn, said the Kennedy family always stood for “what is best about America”. Obama’s campaign faced many similar tests that Kennedy endured in 1960 as the first and only Roman Catholic elected to the presidency. As a minority, born to black and white parents, Obama had to overcome codes words and subtle biases historically applied to African-Americans. Like Catholic hard-liners who complained that Kennedy wasn’t “Catholic enough” in 1960, Obama was sometimes criticized within the black community for not seeming “black enough” in 2008. And yet when the media made it seem Obama had been attacked for his minority status, African-Americans rallied to his support, just as Catholics did in 1960 for Kennedy. Ted Kennedy’s dramatic embrace of Obama’s candidacy carried a powerful symbolism, one of the last significant acts of his distinguished career before he fell ill.
The Kennedy’s legacy from a minority background demands a greater understanding of the cultural forces that they both represented and overcame. From today’s perspective, it is increasingly clear that John F. Kennedy was the Jackie Robinson of American politics, paving a way for presidential candidates from other minority backgrounds. For future generations, the transcendent appeal of JFK’s 1960 success meant that other discounted Americans could possibly overcome the hurdles of ethnicity, race, religion and sex. As this book recounts, the religious bigotry Kennedy faced in 1960 could have easily embittered a candidate with less personal grace and less awareness of this nation’s history. But JFK’s idealistic belief in America’s greatness was clearly stated in, A Nation of Immigrants, which reflected so much of his family’s story. The essence of this little known, little-studied book became the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, which ended the discriminatory preference given to white Europeans and opened the door to millions from Latin America, Asia, Africa and around the world. First proposed by JFK in July 1963, a few months before his assassination, the bill was passed in his memory, pushed by his two brothers in the U.S. Senate. No law in our lifetime has done more to change America and is arguably the Kennedy family’s most lasting legacy to our country.



This book takes a new look at the Kennedy saga over five generations, exploring the impact of religion, race and cultural identity on their public and private lives. Too often, previous historians ignored these powerful forces and portrayed JFK as a Harvard-educated Anglophile, the perfect specimen of a secular, assimilist “melting pot” view of American history. As a result, dozens of Kennedy books routinely ignored, or gave only a passing nod, to the underlying forces of ethnicity and religion that so often influenced the Kennedy family’s actions and outlook. In death, JFK’s reign was lionized as “Camelot” by his widow and those who grieved. But a comparison to British royalty hardly seems proper for the great-grandson of an Irish migrant worker who fled from Dunganstown, County Wexford farm during the Great Famine. Only with the passage of time, and the recent availability of many personal documents at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, does a more complete and accurate portrait emerge.
In re-examining the record, we gain a fresh understanding into the Kennedy family’s sense of their own immigrant heritage, their epic encounters with religious bigotry, and how the complex dynamics of their family life reflected the Irish Catholic experience in America. From Patrick and Bridget Kennedy fleeing famine-stricken Ireland among the great wave of emigrants in the 1840s, to efforts by Ted Kennedy and his sister, U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, to bring peace in the 1990s to their ancestral homeland, their sense of being Irish, of being Catholic, and of being members of a family coming from an often oppressed immigrant minority—indeed the very Irish notion of a Kennedy clan, as they often referred to themselves—carried through from one generation to the next.
Though this book is not intended as a policy analysis, it is nevertheless striking how much of the Kennedy family’s cultural background played a role in such issues as civil rights, Vietnam, poverty, immigration, terrorism and the fight against communism. Certainly, the Kennedy relationship with the Roman Catholic Church was far more extensive than the public perceived of the 1960 presidential candidate, elected as he was by vowing a strict separation between church and state. Private letters illustrate the family’s deep political and financial ties to the church, both in America and with the Pope’s right-hand man at the Vatican. These documents detail Joe Kennedy’s secret dealings between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the future Pope Pius XII, why he felt that FDR harbored a bias against Catholics like himself, and how the Kennedys battled behind the scenes with the church’s hierarchy during JFK’s historic presidential campaign. Joe Kennedy’s decades-long friendship with the suave, discreet Vatican administrator, Count Enrico Galeazzi, offers a fascinating venue into the Kennedy family’s influence in Rome. Their correspondence during the 1960 presidential campaign provides a running commentary on the family’s frustration with anti-Catholic bigotry and anger with the conservative bishops in their own church—something the Kennedys dared not show to the American public.
We also gain new understanding into the personal side of the Kennedys, the often profound and pervasive impact of their cultural background beyond the sheer exercise of power and money. Volumes of family documents—from typed formal correspondences to the handwritten comments on funeral Mass cards, or scribbled St. Patrick’s Day greetings—reveal their struggles with faith after so many tragedies, their difficulties in overcoming anti-Semitism and race, and reconciling matters of marriage and sex within the church’s teachings. We learn of figures such as Jesuit priest Richard McSorley, who spoke for the first time about Jacqueline Kennedy’s depression and thoughts of committing suicide in the wake of her husband’s 1963 assassination. In a typical Kennedyesque setting (while playing tennis in Bobby and Ethel’s Hickory Hill backyard), Father McSorley advised and comforted Jackie as she wondered aloud about a God who would claim the lives of her husband and their infant son, Patrick, within a few tragic months. We get a much more realistic picture of the traumatic impact of these events on the widowed first lady, who appeared silent and stoic to the American public from behind her black veil.
This book focuses on what JFK called the “emerald thread” between two nations—for so much about the Kennedys in America can be understood and appreciated only by first studying what happened to them in Ireland. Interviews and documents detail the Kennedys’ long involvement in the quest for Ireland’s independence, including how some family members in Ireland were tied to the Irish Republican Army. It recounts JFK’s celebrated 1963 visit to Ireland, including the home of his elderly Irish cousin who, unknown to the unwitting White House, had once been a local gunrunner for the IRA’s women’s branch. As former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend explains, the Kennedys’ sense of being Irish Catholics—both as outcasts in Ireland and as “outsiders” in the Brahmin world of Boston—would affect their politics for decades to come.
Though some call them “America’s royalty,” a more apt analogy may be the Irish chieftains of old, the kings of an emerald isle who, according to legend, inspired and led large groups of followers. This book’s title alludes to the “chieftain” notion mentioned by several people who were interviewed, and occasionally by the Kennedys themselves. These qualities emerged first among the Kennedy men who achieved fame and power, but also, tellingly, in recent years with the family’s prominent women. From the broadest vantage, the Kennedy story reminds us of the glories and the limits of America’s melting pot and those histories that paint people from minority groups in familiar “just like us” tones. We gain a better grasp of the Kennedys’ appeal beyond Irish Catholics—to countless other immigrant and minority groups who share a dream of ascendancy in America. In this context, our understanding of the Kennedys becomes richer, more complex and of greater historical significance to what JFK called a nation of immigrants. It recalls how far we’ve progressed as a country since the 1960 election, and yet how many barriers still remain today.

In preparing this work, many people are to be thanked, particularly Basic Books publisher Elizabeth Maguire who edited this book in its original 2003 version. Liz died far too young in 2006 but her memory lives on with all those she touched. Editor Amanda Moon oversaw this re-issued version and updated introduction, which is being jointly released with a new Warner Bros. documentary about the Kennedys based on this book. Robert Kline, producer of this new documentary, is particularly to be thanked for his friendship and help in putting together this joint effort. My agent, Faith Hamlin of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates Inc., has been a bedrock of support, finding the right venues for three successive, sometimes controversial, books about American life in the twentieth century.
Writing is a solitary endeavor, but I relied continually on my family for help along the way. My wife, Joyce McGurrin, provided constant encouragement with her knowledgeable insights, thoughtful ear, and nightly cups of tea. In Ireland, Joyce’s family and her own intuitive awareness of the Irish sensibilities proved invaluable for this New York fellow. This book is dedicated to the joy of our lives—our three sons, Drew, Taylor and Reade—whom we love very much. The boys spent two weeks in Ireland with their parents during the early stages of research, alternately learning how to play hurling at the Kennedy Homestead and how to look up material in the National Library in Dublin. Mostly, they gained a sense of their own history. Because they were teenagers with an abundance of intelligence, charm and Irish wit, Drew and Taylor, known as the “redheads,” likely learned the most from this experience. They spent hours with their father pulling books and sifting through archives. But Reade, a bit younger with the same gifts, had probably the most personally affecting experience.
For Easter 2001, we spent the weekend with Joyce’s cousins, the Brennans, at their eight-hundred-acre sheep farm in County Donegal; there, Reade met a cousin who shared the same birthday and looked just like him. The two boys hit it off like twins. They were mirror images of each other, one Irish, the other American. It was a gentle reminder that we can all recognize a little of ourselves in the Irish and how much we might learn by looking back at where we’ve been.

T.M.,
Long Island, New York.
May, 2008

Barack Obama and Kennedy's 'Prophesy' about First African-American President; Predicted it 40 years ago; Kenyans Talk of Kennedy Ties To Obama's Win

First NBC newscaster Tim Russert pointed out the 'prophecy' of Robert Kennedy in the 1960s about a African-American president being elected in 40 years. And here's an account of the Obama-Kennedy connections following his victory this week.

"Obama made history when he was elected the first US African-American president on Tuesday. The prophecy goes back exactly 40 years ago when a much-beloved American leader, Senator Robert F Kennedy, while mourning his brother’s assassination, made his prophecy on Voice of America in 1968. "There is no question about it," Kennedy said. "In the next 40 years, a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother (former President John F Kennedy) had." Those were troubled times in the US. White extremists were still lynching blacks in America’s South and segregation had only been abolished. Kennedy said: "Prejudice would exist and probably would continue ... but we have tried to make progress and we are making progress. We are not going to accept that status quo."

Video: Kennedys Stump for Obama Right up to Election Day; Caroline Compares "Spark" of Dem to her Dad

Right up to election day, the Kennedys are prominent in the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, invoking images that harken back to the 1960 election of JFK. Here in Florida is Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late president, on the stump for Obama. “We haven’t had a leader who could light that spark and inspire us again... but we do now,” she said.

VIDEO: Barack Obama and John McCain Supporters In Last-Minute Campaigning On Long Island; How Presidential Politics Works on the Grassroots Level

Here are two mini-documentaries about the different presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain on Long Island, and how folks are working at the grass-roots level on their behalf. This appears on the Newsday.com website.

"W' Bush Trailer for New Oliver Stone Movie, then "JFK" and "The Kennedys" in November; "Whaddaya Think You Are -- A Kennedy? You're a Bush!"

In Variety, Peter Bart gives a big hooray to Stone for the new 'W" bipic which opens on Oct. 17. The new "JFK" DVD will unveil Nov. 12 along with a brand-new Warner Bros documentary by Robert Kline, a previous co-producer of Stone's work, with this new docu based on my book, "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings." Stone's original movie "JFK" explored the Kennedy assassination and conspiracy theories behind it. Basic Books is issuing a new updated version of my 700-page biography, including a preface that talks about the Kennedy family's impact on the 2008 presidential race with Barack Obama, and also details Sen. Ted Kennedy's battle with brain cancer.
Here's some of what Peter Bart says about "W" the new Stone film:

Last week I saw Oliver Stone's "W.," an engrossing film which reminds us that the man who made "Platoon" hasn't lost his edge. Part polemic, and part parody, "W." explores the love-hate relationship between George Bush senior and junior. It culminates in a devastating (and imagined) scene in which Bush senior all but implodes in parental rage, declaring that, thanks to junior, no Bush will ever again be elected to public office.

VIDEO: Call Me Lucky: Sarah Palin Wins the VP Gamble, and Maybe the Biggest One of All

Who needs all those CNN audience meters, rolling up and down with approval and discontent? We know what we saw here at this website, where we can spot true Americans and true blarney with hawk-eye clarity. So our result after the VP debate? Well, it wasn't exactly Kennedy-Nixon or Lincoln-Douglas.
Joe Biden was OK but looked a little sleepy, missing a few chances to punch and counterpunch. Without doubt, the true champ tonight was Sarah Palin, the Mauler from Wassila, who gritted her teeth and flashed a wink or two at the crowd while poking away. (No friendly winks for any of the mainstream media, though). She was remarkably effective against the Pride of Scranton or Wilmington or wherever Biden says he's from. There are lot of people betting she'd stumble and lost that heavy-favorite bet, at least tonight.
Palin may have taken a step or two towards the vice-presidency.
But the most remarkable news today is that Palin may be even closer to the presidency than we think.
According to some wise-aleck who looked up the Social Security actuarial tables, Palin would have a 1 out of 6 or 7 chance of becoming president if the Republican ticker prevails. (We won't spell out how that exactly might happen, but you get the picture). This was, of course, bad news to the sourpuss Mainstream Media. Roger Cohen, in the NY Times, underlined the McCain-Palin gamble in today's pages:

I know one thing: this is no time for further gambling. John McCain rolled the dice on Sarah Palin. I’m grateful to Bob Rice of Tangent Capital for pointing out that the actuarial risk, based on mortality tables, of Palin becoming president if the Republican ticket wins the election is about 1 in 6 or 7. That’s the same odds as your birthday falling on a Wednesday, or being delayed on two consecutive flights into Newark airport. Is America ready for that? The lesson of the last eight years is this: when power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead.

So McCain may be the gambler, but who can say they are more lucky than Sarah Palin?
No one thought Lyndon Johnson had a chance of becoming president, either.

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden Watch-out: Just Try Calling Your an Opponent an Elephant (or a Donkey) JFK-style.

In the Book of Debates, it is written that no candidate in their right mind should resort to name-calling. Those who violate this commandment are condemnded to purgatory in the public's mind and to the media's hell. Be like JFK, everyone advises, cool and in control, never resorting to name-calling.
Certainly Barack Obama and John McCain in this year's race, for all of the bile toward each other, have not resorted to any heavy doses of name-calling. But here's a little YouTube evidence that suggest Saint Jack wasn't quite all pure. Imagine, comparing Richard Nixon to an elephant!
As we head into the Vice-Presidential Debate (aka, The Super Bowl of Potential Gaffes), our head is swimming with the possibilities posed by Mooseburger and the Motor Mouth (Sarah Palin and Joe Biden).

For Obama, Is the Key to Success 'Be More than Irish than Harvard'? Will Poet's Inscription to JFK Hold a Key to This Year's Race?

This year, in places like Scranton Pennsylvania and other rust-belt locales, is the old inscription from poet Robert Frost to JFK at his 1960 inaugural still applicable: Be more Irish than Harvard?

Of course, readers of a certain biography, soon to be released as a Warner Bros. documentary, are very familiar with this phrase which held some of the key to Kennedy's success. But Catholic University professor Tim Meagher wonders in this essay if Obama's style on the stump might turn off Catholics who are pivotal in these swing states, pointing to Hillary Clinton's success with white Catholics over Obama during the primary season. That would very ironic given Obama's strong support from the Kennedy family during this election campaign.
But Meagher's essay really doesn't consider the changes in the institutional Church itself between JFK's time and now. Back in 1960, there was a lot obvious ethnic pride surrounding JFK's candidacy, becoming the first U.S. president from a minority background. The priests of this era of Pope John XXIII rallied to Kennedy's cause, at a time when priests and nuns were generally liberal on political matters and the church was a leader in the fight for racial equality. These days, church leaders tend to be more conservative and seem more concerned with Right-to-Life concerns than whether Catholics might not pull the ballot lever for Obama because of his race. McCain's appeal to white Catholics in places like Scranton might succeed in the same way as Hillary Clinton's --  benefitting indirectly from an underlying racism toward Obama dressed up as some cultural problem.
Obama's dilemma in overcoming long-held biases by some voters is much the same as was Kennedy's challenge as an Irish Catholic in 1960. But it seems unlikely many Catholics will see this historical connection and even more unlikely that parish priests in Scranton will address the immorality of voting against a candidate simply because of his race.

Review: Kerry Kennedy on "Being Catholic Now", Predicts Most Catholics Will Vote for Obama

It's nice to see that my book, The Kennedys; America's Emerald Kings," isn't the only one discussing the Kennedys and Catholicism in America.
In the Boston Globe, Kerry Kennedy discusses her new book "Being Catholic Now" which deals with much of the controversies of that past few years. She also told the NY Daily News that she think Catholics will largely vote this year for Barack Obama.
Here's a little of what she had to say to the Boston Globe:
"I was witnessing the mighty spirit, and the tremendous capacity of this institution which was so much a part of my history, and my family, and my sense of spirituality, and my vision of social justice . . . and then coming back and hearing bishops who were protecting their turf instead of protecting children and playing Three-card Monte with the pedophile priests and blaming it on people who are gay," she said. "So it was important to me to resolve that."

"Jack" McCain More Like JFK Than Obama? John McCain's GOPers Jump Into "Compare-Alot", Say Kennedys More Like Their War Hero Than Ted and Caroline's

Everyone wants to get into the JFK comparisons, even supporters of John McCain. In this NY Daily News essay, Bartle Bull -- whose pedigree describes him as a former publisher of The Village Voice and New York State chairman of Democrats for McCain -- makes the case that McCain's background of service in the military is more like President Kennedy than the current Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, supported by JFK's daughter Caroline and brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy. Since we've written much about the Camelot comparison -- what we call "Compare-Alot" -- we were a sucker for this one too.

Like Jack Kennedy, McCain is grounded by heroic service as a naval officer. His patriotism requires no parsing. Like JFK, McCain understands that you cannot conduct foreign policy without understanding history. No person of that background could suggest a unilateral strike on Pakistan, as Obama did last year, apparently forgetting that this United States ally has nuclear weapons. Calling Obama's threat to Pakistan "misguided" at the time, Sen. Joe Biden also said the freshman Illinois lawmaker was unprepared to lead America. Calling McCain "my hero," Biden has stated that he would be delighted to share a ticket with the Arizona senator, whom he has suddenly begun to denounce.

But Bull's analogy may have even more significance regarding RFK, suggests Mr. Bull. As he writes about a Robert Kennedy-McCain comparison:

When Robert Kennedy ran for President in 1968, Eugene McCarthy was the darling of our party's "limousine liberals," as Obama is their cocktail today. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote that Bobby became "the hate object in sections of the intellectual left, at least in New York." RFK turned to the blue-collar Democrats, some of whom are now shifting their support from Hillary Clinton to McCain. As Robert Kennedy's New York campaign manager, I recall his concern about young voters who believed they saw inspirational "hope" and "change" in McCarthy.

VIDEO: "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings" By Thomas Maier and New Warner Bros. Documentary Based on Book, Along with Oliver Stone's "JFK"

REUTERS- The controversial highly-charged story surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination is revisited with the November 11 release of Oliver Stone's JFK as a Three-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition from Warner Home Video. The UCE will feature The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, an extraordinary new documentary from filmmaker Robert Kline based on Thomas Maier's acclaimed book about five generations of the renowned political family. Unique to the documentary is political and private footage of the Kennedys not widely available to the general public. The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings documentary will be premiered on November 10th at Boston College and also screened on November 12th at Fordham University/Lincoln Center. Both universities
have the largest Irish studies programs in the country.

About The Documentary

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings is an American saga about the Irish Catholic experience. It encompasses five generations of the Kennedys' and Fitzgeralds' lives -- starting from 1848 in Wexford, Ireland and ending in 21st-century America. The film was adapted from Thomas Maier's highly acclaimed book The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings from Basic Books, re-released in July 2008. The documentary provides a look at both the family's tragedies of poverty and
political oppression and their successes and the triumphs of the White House years. It embodies the most complete work on this Irish American family and their unique place in American history and culture.
Basic Books
Greg Houle, 212-340-8163
Greg.Houle@perseusbooks.com

Can Catholics Support Obama? Former Romney Aide Invokes JFK in Now Supporting Barack Obama with New Book and Shows Up at Dem Confab to Hawk it

This rather provocative segment on CNN "Can Catholics Support Obama" asks a very ironic question. After all, one Dem prez candidate was defeated amidst strong bigotry against his Catholic faith (Al Smith in 1928) and another Dem candidate (John F. Kennedy) fought hard to overcome religious bigotry which made his Catholicism the top issue of the 1960 campaign.
So why would Roman Catholics not support Obama if they were in agreement with most of his political views? (Check out the Obama complaints leveled by Catholic League's William Donohue.)
I discuss this a great deal in my newly re-issued book The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, with a new preface about the Kennedys impact on the 2008 race.

VIDEO: Ted Kennedy's 'Last Hurrah'- Commentators and Editorials Around the World

Commentators around the world described Sen. Edward Kennedy's surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention, overcoming illness to make what many believe might be his last hurrah before his party. Here's a short sampling:

David S. Broder, The Washington Post:

When Ted Kennedy made his dramatic appearance before the Democratic National Convention delegates Monday night, the ovation he received was more than a personal tribute. It was a celebration of almost half a century of his history at these gatherings. Going back to 1960, he has been a vivid presence at these conclaves, just as he was Monday night when the party long dominated by the Kennedy clan paid tribute to the elder statesman now stricken with brain cancer. Only twice has he missed a convention -- in 1964, when he was recovering from injuries suffered in a plane crash, and four years later, after Robert F. Kennedy's assassination -- and both times the Kennedy family was a subtext to what went on.

Chris Matthews' "Hardball" program:

Long-time AP political writer Walter R. Mears:

Among the featured performers at the Democratic National Convention, the unexpected address by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was the best I saw and heard. And the long, programmed keynote speech of Mark Warner ranked worst.
What Kennedy said wasn't as striking as the fact, and the way, he said it. Stricken with brain cancer, not long past chemotherapy and radiation treatments that had taken their toll on him, the 76-year-old senator from Massachusetts was to have been honored with a speech by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and a taped tribute. Instead, he came from Hyannisport, Mass., to Denver, and took the stage. He said nothing could have kept him away. Kennedy went from the airport to a hospital to be checked by his doctors, and one night later, on Monday, he was at the convention microphone.
His presence on stage was striking, a remarkable act of will. His seven-minute speech was more so. He delivered it in a firm, unwavering voice. He waved at the crowds like the Kennedy of old. It was, in all probability, his last turn at a national convention. It was a star turn.

The New York Times:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy is proof that F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong when he declared that there are no second acts in American life. Mr. Kennedy — who is struggling against cancer and whose career was celebrated at the Democratic convention Monday night — has had so many acts that we’ve lost count. He was the baddest of the Capitol’s bad boys who had the nerve to run against a sitting Democrat, President Jimmy Carter, in 1980. Now he is the principled voice of a fading generation...What seems especially important right now is Mr. Kennedy’s ability to concede defeat gracefully and rearm himself for another good fight. That is a strength we hope Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton can emulate.

The Salt Lake Tribune:
Whatever else happens during the Democratic National Convention, the surprise appearance of cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on opening night Monday came as close to a national moment of shared emotion as we're likely to see this week.
For Americans of a certain age, many Republicans included, here was the last of the Kennedy brothers making what may have been his last appearance on the grand stage of this country's politics. His speech, delivered with a strength that belied his halting steps to the lectern, drew from a reservoir of memory and feeling that only he could have tapped, one that members of the World War II generation and their children carry with them.
At 76 and fighting a brain tumor, having long outlived three brothers who died before their time, Kennedy recalled the rhetoric of new beginnings and challenges that his brothers Jack and Bobby sounded in the 1960s. In many of the same lofty words, the youngest Kennedy sibling tried to bridge the long span of time separating the Kennedys of that era and the Democrats' man of the moment today.

VIDEO: Caroline Kennedy Talks about Ted Kennedy, JFK, Obama and Her Own Political Future

All of the intriguing political stories from the Dem's Convention seem to come from New York. What is Hillary going to do in the Senate, what is Bill going to do in Chappaqua and Harlem? But the biggest mystery of all may be the political future, if any, of Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy, who helped convince her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, to come out early and forcefully for Barack Obama. How much influence did Caroline, on the Obama search committee for VP, have on the selection of Joe Biden? And more importantly, what political plum might she be eyeing for all her hard political work?