Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, often considered the most influential liberal icon in America, reached out to Kaua‘i voters Friday morning in a phone interview from Washington, D.C. He stressed the powerful role the next generation will play in shaping the
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, often considered the most influential liberal icon in America, reached out to Kaua‘i voters Friday morning in a phone interview from Washington, D.C.
He stressed the powerful role the next generation will play in shaping the nation’s future as he urged residents to back presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama at Tuesday’s Democratic caucus.
The unprecedented move by such a high-profile politician underscores how much the Garden Isle matters in a nominating contest this close, officials said.
“It’s going to be a tight race nationally, and Hawai‘i’s delegates could make the difference,” state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i, said. “There’s no question that your votes do matter.”
Hawai‘i-born Obama, an Illinois senator, would be the nation’s first black president. He maintains a narrow lead over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who would be the first woman president.
The world will turn its attention to the islands next week, Kennedy said, when Democratic voters head to their local precincts to pick their presidential preference.
There are 20 delegates at stake in Hawai‘i on Tuesday.
In the past, Hawai‘i has not been much of a player in the nominating contest, County Councilman Tim Bynum said.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “The outcome here will have an impact on the momentum and the race.”
Obama has secured an estimated 1,276 delegates to Clinton’s 1,220. A Democratic candidate needs 2,025 to win the party’s nomination.
“This nominating process has been unique and special in American history,” said Kennedy, who has served in Congress since 1962. “Each of these states and each of these votes have mattered.”
He emphasized the role of the next generation, which both candidates continue to court.
“Young people left their schools and colleges and sat at lunch counters with Martin Luther King. … Young people ended the war in Vietnam,” Kennedy said. “Now young people have similar opportunities with Barack Obama to reclaim the leadership for this country and set the course for this nation.”
Kennedy said young people overwhelmingly support Obama after being turned off by “a politics of fear, a politics of division, a politics of special interests” that the Bush administration has created over the past seven years.
“Barack is touching a nerve among young people with a politics of inclusion, a politics of hope, a politics of progress, a politics of reconciliation,” he said. “The young people are responding to that. It is enormously important for Hawai‘i and for the country that young people be involved.”
But the “movement” is unlimited, Kennedy said.
“I feel older people even can be part of this movement,” the 76-year-old senator said with a chuckle. “It’s an open movement and a welcoming movement. You feel it when you go to rallies.”
Although neither candidate plans to campaign in Hawai‘i, both have enlisted help from their families as they battle for the state’s delegates.
Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, campaigned for her mother this weekend at events on O‘ahu and Maui. She talked policies and answered questions from supporters, but continued to refuse all media requests for interviews.
Meanwhile, Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, has worked phone banks and rallied support statewide for her brother’s bid.
She visited Kaua‘i last weekend in a one-day stop.
But officials said Kennedy may be the most persuasive power yet to extend a voice into the islands on behalf of a candidate.
As he has at recent campaign rallies, Kennedy again likened Obama to former President John F. Kennedy.
“Barack Obama understands the importance of challenging people as President Kennedy understood it. He challenged people to go to the moon, people went to the moon. He challenged people to go to the Peace Corp., people went to it,” the senator said. “Barack Obama understands young people want to be challenged and has challenged them to be part of a new direction for our country.”
Obama launched a 60-second radio ad here Friday, explaining why he considers the state a “special place.” Clinton on Wednesday ushered out a “Solutions for Hawaii” plan.
While Obama has roots in the islands, he has mostly focused on his public service experience in Chicago while campaigning across the country.
“It’s clear Hawai‘i will go pretty strong for Barack,” Bynum said. “But for the Democrats, it’s like either way we have a strong viable candidate.”
Arizona Sen. John McCain is expected to win the Republican Party’s presidential nominating contest after emerging last month as the clear front-runner.
David Plouffe, Obama’s national campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters Thursday that Clinton must win some Hawai‘i delegates or risk falling “further behind the eight ball.”
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
