Endorsements: Ted Kennedy For Obama And Liz Cheney For Romney

Two significant political endorsements are breaking: Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy will endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination and Vice President Dick Cheney’s politically-astute daughter Liz Cheney will endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.

Both go against what some conventional wisdom has painted as their parties’ front runners. Senator Hillary Clinton has long been perceived as her party’s front-runner. And GOPer Senator John McCain seemed to edging back towards that status — but he has been a front runner mostly in polls that show him garnering lots of votes from independents and Democrats. McCain’s tiny problem with Republicans: many of them simply do not like or trust him and consider him a “RINO.”

The New York Times’ lively blog The Caucus reports:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy intends to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama during a rally on Monday in Washington.

Mr. Kennedy, who is viewed in many circles as the lion of the Democratic Party, finalized his decision after the South Carolina primary results on Saturday, with Mr. Obama forging a coalition of black and white voters. Associates to both men said the senators have been in discussion for weeks, but Mr. Kennedy informed Mr. Obama today.

Of all the endorsements in the Democratic Party, Mr. Kennedy’s is viewed as the most weighty. He had vowed to stay out of the presidential nominating fight, but as the contest expands into a state-by-state fight – and given the tone of the race in the last week – associates said he was moved to announce his support for Mr. Obama.

And, in the Grand Old Party:

Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Elizabeth Cheney is joining Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, his campaign announced Sunday.

She previously stumped for former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee who dropped out of the race last week.

In a statement released by Romney’s campaign, Cheney said the former Massachusetts governor “has distinguished himself as a leader who can guide our country with a clear vision for overcoming the threats we face today.”

She also called him “the only candidate who has outlined a comprehensive strategy for defeating the global Jihadist threat.”

Cheney, 41, once served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department. She stepped down from the senior-level post in 2006.

She also worked in the State Department from 2002 to 2003, before leaving to work on her father’s re-election campaign.

Do endorsements matter?

Endorsements are loudly-touted by partisans when their candidates are endorsed but pooh-poohed if someone endorses someone else. But these two endorsements are bound to carry some weight:

TED KENNEDY remains an icon to many Democratic liberals and to many Americans, despite his image on the right and role as a favorite of ridicule on radio and cable talk shows. JFK’s daughter Caroline has already endorsed Obama. The two endorsements suggest a kind of passing of the torch from the Kennedy wing to Obama — something that cannot hurt him with Democratic voters. It’ll also make it much more difficult for the “Billary” campaign (Bill Clinton working with Hillary Clinton) to double-team him with negative campaigning without serious intra-party consequences.

Be sure to read TMV co-blogger Robert Stein’s post on the Clinton-Kennedy Chasm HERE.

LIZ CHENEY deciding to endorse Romney is symptomatic of how many establishment GOPers simply cannot go with John McCain. It suggests — more than ever — that if McCain stumbles in Florida there’s a good chance Romney will wind up the GOP nominee. It’s hard to get a nomination if your own party base doesn’t like you.

The irony is that McCain spent several years trying to cozy up to his party’s base to the point where he was accused of pandering and lost independent vote support in polls. Now his independent voter support is up and polls show him as the strongest Republican Presidential candidate — but he may have wooed his 2000 Republican foes in vain.

To read lots of blog reaction go HERE.