Just How Valuable is an Endorsement?
I had to scramble for a copy of the Kennedy family tree yesterday — I was trying to figure which Kennedy was endorsing which candidate, and I don’t always remember which one is which some days. I read an endorsement for Hillary Clinton by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and couldn’t manage to place her. Wikipedia came to my rescue: in addition to being a past lieutenant governor of Maryland, Townsend is Robert F. Kennedy’s oldest child.
Beyond trying to remember which Kennedy was which, I’ve been spending some time trying to figure out just how much endorsements are worth. There are celebrity endorsements that I really consider not very worthwhile at all: Kevin Bacon has lent his support to John Edwards’ campaign, but that endorsement hasn’t filled me with trust. Bacon is an actor — while he may have an interest in politics, he’s offered up no proof that he closely follows political news.
But the Kennedy endorsements… they carry weight. Even 45 years after JFK’s assassination, the name Kennedy is still synonymous with politics. While lesser known members of the family may not get the immediate press time that Ted Kennedy can grab, their name still gets some attention. And consider the three that came out firmly for Clinton this weekend: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is involved in Maryland state politics, Mary Kerry Kennedy is involved with human rights activism and Bobby Kennedy (RFK, Jr.) is a lawyer active in environmentalism. Them I trust to have kept an eye on what is going on in politics.
But the big news this weekend has to boil down to two of the better known Kennedys — the ones that garnered their recipient mountains of free publicity. Caroline Kennedy’s New York Times editorial in support of Barack Obama is the best endorsement a campaign manager could ever hope for. Not only did it reach the Times’ Sunday circulation (1.6 million households), but half the internet seems to be linking to it this morning. The things she had to say are the icing on the cake: the comparison of Obama to JFK as a beacon of hope, by his daughter no less, evoke an aura of hope that has been absent from American politics.
Ted Kennedy’s endorsement, although slightly quieter, is just as valuable. Despite intentions not to announce such an endorsement until today, it was a hot topic over the weekend as the Clinton campaign — especially Bill Clinton — tried to get the senator to agree to remain neutral throughout the primary, which he almost always does. Allow me to restate that: Ted Kennedy almost never endorses a candidate during the primaries. He’s been in the Senate since 1963 — I consider it a big deal that he’s gone out of his way to endorse Obama, ignoring the fact that it’s become big news because of the Clinton campaign’s attempt to prevent it.
My title is a question: Just how valuable is an endorsement? Caroline Kennedy’s endorsement is invaluable. Ted Kennedy’s is incalculable. If only one had announced an endorsement this week, I would have bet that Obama would have claimed the news cycle for the rest of the week, but both at once is going to get Obama plenty of attention. These two endorsements even weaken Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s endorsement and that of her siblings: because of the timing, it feels like Hillary Clinton is just trying to say “Look! I have Kennedys, too!”
Endorsements can be the most valuable tool a campaign manager can get, especially with endorsers with the political status of the Kennedys. It’s possible to turn an endorsement into a double-edged sword though, and this week, Obama’s campaign has the best of both worlds.
