Kennedy hopes to give speech at convention

DENVER - In a moment that is sure to bring down the house, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy is expected to attend the Democratic National Convention, most likely to deliver a speech tonight.

Kennedy has been battling brain cancer since May, and his doctors are said to be worried that his treatment has compromised his immune system and that attending the convention could put him at further risk. Still, the senator has recently told people that he has a speech written for the convention and that he badly wants to come, pending a final medical consultation.

Buzz has built among Massachusetts politicos that Kennedy would come, and yesterday a Bay State Democrat close to the family confirmed that Kennedy has decided to travel to Denver, probably for an opening-night address. Convention organizers already had planned to show a documentary tonight by filmmakers Ken Burns and Mark Herzog that is a video tribute to Kennedy's nearly 46 years of service in the Senate.

"He is definitely planning to be here," said the Kennedy family confidant. "The whole Kennedy family will be in a special section. It should be quite a moment."

Among Kennedy family members expected to convene in Denver are sister Jean Kennedy Smith, sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy, nephews Joseph P. Kennedy II and Stephen Smith, and nieces Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Caroline Kennedy, who will also address the convention.

A Kennedy speech is usually a convention highlight, and the senator revels in giving addresses that excite the crowd. This year's speech should be especially poignant in light of his illness. Kennedy prompted an emotional display among colleagues of both parties in the US Senate when he returned to the chamber briefly on July 9 to cast a decisive vote on a healthcare measure, even though he was undergoing intensive treatment at the time.

Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama early in the primary season, and actively campaigned for him even though he has had a long and close relationship with Obama's main rival, Senator Hillary Clinton. Kennedy, echoing his niece Caroline Kennedy, said he believed Obama offers a message of change at a time when the country needs a new political direction, and that Obama had proved able to inspire young and disaffected people to get involved and cast their ballots.