The Caroline Kennedy Factor

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The Caroline Kennedy Factor

Monday, January 28, 2008

filed under: moms are talking about

Friend of Mom Logic Role Mommy writes: Caroline Kennedy endorses Obama... so now what?

"It appears that Barack Obama has just secured the crown jewel of an endorsement for his presidential run for the Democratic nomination. If you thought Oprah can bring in millions of votes, there's no telling what an endorsement by the Kennedy family will do for his prospects to become the Commander-in-Chief.

I have always admired Caroline Kennedy. She has endured so much tragedy in her life—losing her father to an assassin's bullet, her mother to cancer, and her brother to a horrific plane crash. Through it all, she has remained intensely private about her own life. She is truly a role model who has managed to raise her children out of the public eye, while helping others realize their full potential so they too can pursue their dreams.

Though I made it clear early on to friends and family that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter, this recent endorsement does make me think twice about my decision. The reason I was hesitant about voting for Obama was because of his lack of experience. Hillary is the more seasoned candidate—she's been in the White House before, she's a senator, she can potentially set us back on course to how things were before our lives were irrevocably changed by terrorism, war and economic turmoil. But just because I feel more at ease with a Clinton White House, will it really just be more of the same?

If Hillary gets elected, will her political detractors come out with poison pens blazing again—ready to uncover the latest scandal that will prevent her from doing her job effectively? And if that does in fact happen, does it make more sense to vote for a candidate who offers hope, promise and change for a nation in so desperate need of a makeover?

In Caroline Kennedy's editorial in the New York Times, she said, "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 to my children, my parents' grandchildren, with that sense of possibility."

With this moving passage, Caroline Kennedy has given us all something powerful to consider. Do we liberals take a chance on a candidate who is reminiscent of her own father, who at the age of 44 became the youngest man to ever become president? I'm sure back then, there were parents like me who doubted this young senator from Massachusetts had the ability to affect change in this country, but in the short time he was president, he managed to instill in Americans a sense of hope, purpose and promise for a brighter future.

As I personally discovered this year when I left a stable corporate job to launch my own company, change can be unsettling and even scary at times. But to truly experience success, you have to take chances. Perhaps Caroline Kennedy is onto something. I still don't know if that will sway my vote, but what I do know is that I hope our next president offers our nation a sense of unbridled optimism so that our children can inherit a nation rich in opportunity and not despair. To truly experience the American dream, you have to live your life as a dreamer. Perhaps that dreamer is Barack Obama. I guess we won't really know unless we take a chance."

Does Kennedy's endorsement change your vote?

filed under: moms are talking about

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I truly hope that all woman who plan to vote for Hillary, take a moment to look at things in a slightly different way. Yes, it would be great, and it’s overdue to have a strong woman as President. But I urge you to consider all the real baggage that comes with Bill and Hillary. We truly need to turn the page on Clinton and Bush dynasties. Hillary will also be up against the Republican machine i the general and lots of stuff will come out, we may turn the WH back over to a Republican. PLEASE SUPPORT OBAMA for the Dem nomination. He is the right candidate for this time and this moment. Please.

- Sara

Posted 01/28/08 06:23 PM

It is time to take a real look at Obama. I know we are long overdue for a woman President, but we shouldn’t vote for Hillary just because she is a woman. Please consider where we are right now in our country. All the division and negative politics. We really need a NEW generation in the White House. We need a leader that doesn’t have all the baggage of the Clintons, and we don’t need any more dynasties. 25 years of Bush and Clinton in the WH is too much. Please help us move forward. Hillary will have a hard time in the general election with all the baggage she and Bill carry with them. The Republicans are just waiting to run against her and Bill.

- Sara

Posted 01/28/08 06:29 PM

I was 5 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated. I alienated my parents fiercely when I turned 18 in 1976, and registered as a Republican, as our family have been staunch Democrats for generations. I have never for a moment ever considered voting for a Democratic presidential candidate, but voted for Ross Perot in 1992, because I was weary of the same old mire of politics as usual. Now, at 50 (a few months older than Caroline Kennedy), I too, am feeling HOPE, not fear or defeated resignation. I DO “feel a change in the air.” I will, this November, make my parents proud of me in Heaven, as I cast my vote for Barack Obama. I am a white woman, and remember those protests where bras were burned, and women fought for some equality in the workplace and society. Hillary Clinton has never been a figurehead to me as a presidential candidate. Her history is one of ruthless agression for power, and before Barack Obama arrived on the forefront, I had publicly stated that I would vote for Hillary ONLY as a last resort, should Huckabee win the Republican nomination. Should Barack Obama NOT get the Democratic Convention nomination, those women who choose Hillary to show some form of foolish solidarity based on her gender, will do ALL women, as well as all Americans a great disservice. It is LONG past time for a change. It IS time for Barack Obama!

- Lynne Gordon

Posted 01/28/08 09:08 PM

To you folks supporting Obama. Yes, his speeches are inspiring. His motivational speeches do not tell me anything because they really do not have any content. In no way does this candidate compare to JFK. His lack of experience concerns me. His crafted speeches have failed to reveal that he was not in the Senate when the Resolution was passed. He still was a senator in Illinois. Yes, he can say now that he was against the war but sitting in the Senate seat listening to a much trusted Colin Powell assure everyone including me that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, what would he have done then? He just indicated that he doesn’t know how he would have voted yet he continues to pound Hillary on that issue. It takes more than a motivational speaker to swing my vote. I have listened to comments from some of the younger folks about him being cute, funny, great speaker but it takes more than that to be a president. When he is debating I noticed that he points his finger at the person he is adressing. I just can picture him pointing his finger at the leaders of other countries when he is in talks with them. As far as the Kennedy’s supporting him, good old Ted crafted this one. He always wanted to be president so this is his opportunity to be Obama’s Dick Cheney.

- Ginny

Posted 02/05/08 11:39 AM

When my husband was in high school, he was a summer camp counselor in Connecticut. Some of the Kennedys attended and he said the Kennedy women were really slobs, foul mouths, lots of profanity, much worse than any of the young men at camp ..They ate with heir hands and it was all pretty disgusting. Recently, I saw a film of Caroline eating lunch in a restaurant, I was then reminded of what my husband told me about those summers with the Kennedys. My belief is that Carolyn is a nice, decent person and she’s smart but too much like some of her relatives on her Father’s side and unfortunately she looks like a Kennedy and I don’t mean Jacqueline. I don’t believe that she can get rid of that look, short of plastic surgery. Even the way she walks is disgusting. However, I do like the way she has raised her children. but she just doesn’t have the necessary qualification to be a Senator. My guess is that she would last about 2 years. She would not relate to even the middle class, much less the needy. I feel sorry for her because her children are grown and she’s probably bored, but just don’t think this is the way for her to go. She does not have the necessary qualifications to be a U.S. Senator, and especially a Senator representing the great state of New York.

- Cynthia Lawrence

Posted 12/24/08 12:39 AM