SEMANA NEWS - NEWSPAN MEDIA
June 15-21, 2008
WEEK of promises
Don Juan Corzo
donjuanc@univision.com
Houston-On june 8th 40 years ago, U.S. Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy offered the following statement at the funeral of his brother Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City: "My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."
The senator and democratic candidate had been shot three days earlier while celebrating his victory in California in the primaries with his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968.
His son Max Kennedy visited Houston in early March and spoke with SEMANA NEWS about what it means to have a better future and how Illinois senator and democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama resembles his father in bringing positive change to the country.
SEMANA NEWS:Why do you compare senator Obama with the kind of leader that your father was?
Max Kennedy:It's very important that citizens of Houston and all over Texas understand that he's a strong advocate of the people and wants to really take care of the issues that are affecting Texans just as the rest of Americans.
SN:What position does Obama hold in regards of the Hispanic community?
MK:There were only two senators who walked with the Latino community during the pro-immigrant demonstrations in March two years ago and they were my uncle (senator) Edward Kennedy and Barack Obama. He is the candidate who supports giving driver's license to undocumented aliens. When Kennedy and (senator) John McCain were trying to pass the bill for the legalization of undocumented people, Obama's office was always available to help in whatever was necessary and more than other senators' offices.
SN:What goals set by your father reflect what Obama wants to do?
MK:Obama wants to definitely end the war (in Iraq) and also wants to fix the country's economic situation and there are business agreements that have affected the country in a negative way. Obama never supported free trade agreements. For example when CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) was being developed, he pointed out that the accord didn't provide protection for workers and didn't have enough environmental regulations. The corporations are moving jobs overseas to give them to people who earn less and folks in Texas or Ohio are losing their jobs.
SN:What immediate actions would Obama take if he's elected President?
MK:One example is with the free trade agreements. He has clearly said that when he's President he's going to talk to other world leaders like Mexico's to correct the problems of the agreements immediately, if not, he'll suspend it immediately.
SN:What other reasons do you have to support Obama?
MK:I look at him in the eyes when we talk and I see someone with a tremendous integrity who I can trust . He's going to stand up to any challenge and do the right thing. Right now we need someone who's going to tell the truth even if anyone disagrees. He's going to change the country because he's going to unite us all.
SN:Many people are saying that Obama could be the victim of an assassination like your father or your uncle President John Kennedy.
MK:Every leader faces that possibility, and the government is doing everything possible to protect him. I've heard about it but it's not something we can worry about. Anyway, I don't think it can happen. There are those against him that want to block him and they're going to do everything possible to stop him, legally. Even though everyone faces that possibility, I don't think anyone would try to hurt him. Whoever tried to do it would have to be a lunatic.
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Por hablar
La senadora Hillary Clinton causó
polémica el 23 de mayo cuando
hizo referencia al asesinato del
senador Robert Kennedy en defensa
a su candidatura a la presidencia
del país: “Mi esposo no selló
su nominación en 1992 hasta que
ganó las primarias en California
en junio, ¿cierto? Todos nos acordamos
que Bobby Kennedy fue
asesinado en junio en California.
No entiendo”.
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