In search of Kennedy's endorsement
LET'S SAY you're a political gumshoe and the question before you is this: Who does Edward M. Kennedy think would make the best president of the United States?
Other than Edward M. Kennedy, that is.
The state's senior senator has worked with nine presidents. And he has served in the Senate with six of the Democratic candidates. So his perspective would be well worth having.
A logical place to start would be by asking Kennedy himself. Ah, but there you would run into Stephanie Cutter, Kennedy's iron curtain, who would politely inform you that the senator is focused on Senate business, "is not likely to endorse at this time," and will not consent to an interview.
Now, a while back, when you mentioned you would like to talk to the senator about education policy, Ted was persistent as a telemarketer, peppering your voicemail with messages like this: "Ted Kennedy, 9:30 Saturday. Sorry to miss you."
A chance to spend a Saturday in June discussing voluntary national education benchmarks?
Sooo sorry to have missed you, too.
Still, you might suspect that Kennedy isn't focused on Senate business to the complete exclusion of the campaign. You might even remember that last December, when poor stumble-tongued John Kerry hoped to delay his own presidential decision, the better to weather his gaffe about Iraq, Kennedy made it clear that if Kerry kept dawdling, he might just back another candidate. Word was, Kennedy doubted Kerry would be viable if he kept waiting - and he wanted his endorsement to matter. And make no mistake: Kennedy's support counts for something. No one who saw him rally the faithful for Kerry in 2004 in Iowa or New Hampshire would doubt that. When the two appeared together, it was a case of the opening act upstaging the main attraction.
So you would be inclined to think that Kennedy is watching the current race pretty carefully. And then you might recollect that, in a profession where the salutation "my good friend" usually means, "I wouldn't dare turn my back on him if he had so much as a plastic fork in his hand," Kennedy really is famously close with Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
Why, with a little snooping, you might find that several people close to Kennedy are backing Dodd. People like, say, US Representative Patrick Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy Jr., the senator's two sons.
"He is a terrific guy and he would be a great president," says Ted Jr., who has campaigned for Dodd in Iowa and New Hampshire.
And you might recall that in June, when Dodd proposed his national service program in Nashua, one of those at the event was Don Dowd, another of Ted's longtime friends, who is helping Dodd in New Hampshire. And further, that Kennedy insider Nick Littlefield has co-hosted a fund-raiser for Dodd's presidential bid. And that Kennedy's sister Eunice is a Dodd contributor.
"Eunice sent five grand to the campaign," Dodd tells me. "As Teddy likes to say, 'She never gave me $5,000.' " It was $4,600, actually, but you get the idea.
Now, these are adults with minds of their own. Still, it's hard to imagine they would have all coalesced around Dodd without a tacit blessing from Ted. So let's ask: What did the senator say when Ted Jr. told him he planned to support Dodd?
"He said, 'That's terrific,' " the son reports.
"He has a huge regard for Dodd," says a Kennedy confidant. "I think that's where his heart really is."
So why isn't Kennedy publicly backing his friend?
Here's one widely cited reason: Like Dodd, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which Kennedy chairs - and committee comity is ever so important.
Then, some suggest, there's the matter of relevance. Kennedy likes to gets behind someone with a real shot at winning - and Dodd, despite his long years in the Senate, is barely registering in the polls, at least so far.
And yet, there's something noble about standing by your friends even when circumstances make it tricky or the going is tough. That's what Governor Patrick did when he endorsed Obama despite the Hillary headwinds, and you had to admire him for it.
And that's why you find yourself hoping that, whatever his concerns about committee collegiality and campaign clout, the Senate's liberal lion isn't going to start playing it safe at 75.
Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is lehigh@globe.com. 