Kennedy: Obama ‘once in a lifetime’

WILKES-BARRE – In one last push to try to ensure Illinois Sen. Barack Obama becomes the next president of the United States, Caroline Kennedy made a stop at Wilkes University just two days before the election.

“This is a critical weekend,” Kennedy, 50, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, said Sunday in front of a crowd of more than 200. “(Barack Obama) is the kind of leader that comes along only once in a lifetime.”

Kennedy, whose full name is Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, stumped for Obama on Sunday afternoon, saying the spirit and passion of the politics she was brought up in needs to be returned to the country.

“This is the most exciting campaign in my lifetime,” Kennedy said. “When I first watched Barack Obama, I knew I had to support him.”

Kennedy was scheduled to make a stop later Sunday evening at the Scranton Cultural Center with U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain made an appearance in Scranton early Sunday afternoon.

Kennedy spoke of growing up in politics, with her father and uncle Sen. Ted Kennedy, who Caroline Kennedy said is also an important part of the Obama campaign.

“Teddy on Barack Obama’s side made all the difference,” she said, adding that she and her uncle’s political views on universal health care, college affordability and education corresponded with Obama’s.

Kennedy, born in New York City, received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her juris doctorate from Columbia Law School. Kennedy married her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, in July 1986, and the couple have three children, Rose, Tatiana and John – two of whom will vote for the first time on Tuesday.

Kennedy works as an attorney, editor and writer, and is president of the Kennedy Library Foundation, director of the Commission on Presidential Debates and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She has written and edited a total of six books.

In January, Kennedy announced her support for Obama in an op-ed letter, “A president like my father,” submitted to the New York Times.

On Sunday, she talked about how her father inspired many Americans to become community servants in capacities such as doctors, nurses and teachers. “My father inspired them to give back …,” she said, adding that Obama inspired her and she felt he was the right choice for president.

“(Obama) will strengthen our economy and strengthen our credibility throughout the world,” Kennedy said. “(Obama being elected would be an) incredible reaffirmation of our democracy.”

Wilkes-Barre residents Jeanette Garber and Dorrie Shapiro have been Obama supporters from the beginning. “Bush and Cheney brought this country to its knees,” Garber said. “We’re deeply in debt ... it’s time for a change.”

Garber said she came to see Kennedy on Sunday because she supports the Democratic Party and Kennedy’s stance on issues. “She has a vision, the way her father did,” Garber said. “This is a once-in-a-generation candidate.”

Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., of Scranton, introduced Kennedy on Sunday, stating that if change is to come to the United States, it will come through Obama as president. “We need to change our country,” Casey said. “The only way we can do that is by electing Obama.”

As a battleground state, Pennsylvania’s choice can change the course of American history, Casey said. “Pennsylvania is going to contribute to that change. I believe in what Barack Obama believes.”

Casey said job creation, health care, education, renewable energy and the middle class are all what led him to support Obama. He also said tax cuts are needed.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton also spoke Sunday afternoon, stating that Casey and Obama have been friends to Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Casey spoke about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s comment made during a recent rally that Pennsylvania has “Casey Democrats.”

“Casey Democrats may stand for a lot of things, but there’s also things we don’t stand for,” Casey said, which includes not privatizing Social Security and cutting Medicare.

“McCain is playing games with voters,” Casey said. “Any attempt to deceive voters is not going to be tolerated in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”