The Teetering of Two Dynasties

The oldest and (at least in the minds of Kennedy's) most cherished family dynasty in the Democratic party is struggling to keep some semblance of relevancy even though the remaining active politically active members are a Senator who's been in office for thirty some-odd years and a younger member who was busted in the early morning hours mumbling drunkenly about needing to vote. Oh, almost forgot about a Kennedy who is perpetually screaming about global warming but won't support wind farms in Massachusetts that may inconvenience him personally.

The other family is the Clinton family who is likewise struggling to hold on to power and sees that power slipping away and they are not letting go without one hell of a fight.

The two families have intertwined and it may well be that both will prove irrelevant:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Senator Edward M. Kennedy, rejecting entreaties from the Clintons and their supporters, is set to endorse Senator Barack Obama’s presidential bid on Monday as part of an effort to lend Kennedy charisma and connections before the 22-state Feb. 5 showdown for the Democratic nomination.

Both the Clintons and their allies had pressed Mr. Kennedy for weeks to remain neutral in the Democratic race, but Mr. Kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the Clinton campaign, aides said. He and former President Bill Clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what Mr. Kennedy considered misleading statements by Mr. Clinton about Mr. Obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign.

I don't necessarily agree with the Times characterization of the Kennedy's as having "charisma" anymore--at least with regard to Teddy, but this may well mean something in the Democratic party.

Bill Clinton could get away with the smash-mouth brand of politics when he was running against lesser candidates (read white) like Al Gore or Bob Dole but all of a sudden the scions of the party are getting nervous that the "Clinton machine" is using those same exact tactics against the first true black candidate, one who has a real shot at actually being the candidate.

Will this mean anything? No one knows but it could be that it's the end of both of these politically-connected families and the Democrats may well be in the midst of a purge that should have been executed six-years ago.

I must admit to getting a warm, fuzzy feeling seeing in my minds eye slick Willy begging Chappaquiddick Teddy to please support the Shill.