The speech had already been written

Damn my full-time job and full-time school career! Because of all this real life stuff I was unable to hop-on immediately to share my realization about Ted Kennedy's emotional support for Barack Obama yesterday.

I spoke on the historic nature of the moment - Camelot, with all it's magic and prestige and unassailable political clout being willingly handed over to a black man. It was more than emotional and powerful, it was, I believe history will bear, the flag that announced the last lap of generational change in our political life.

Caroline and Patrick rounded out the picture of family solidarity but it was Ted Kennedy who drew on the emotional connection so many of us feel for the Kennedys that struck a chord with me. There is the obvious symbolism - a silver-haired, aging white man from the Northeast beside a young, spry, black Man with a trans-global heritage - but I saw something else as Teddy shook with passion about Barack.

This is the speech, perhaps, he'd hoped to one day give for JFK, Jr.

The emotional undercurrent of his support for Barack is the type normally resolved for the beloved children or tolerated in-laws in a family very cognizant of their legacy. It was like seeing an uncle groom his nephew to take over the family business.

Only this family business is American politics and Barack, white momma not withstanding, ain't exactly part of the family.

Really, could you not have seen the same intensity of emotion had Obama been replaced by JFK, JR?

Though he denied often any desire to run for political office it is no secret that almost everyone with fond memories of Camelot expected JFK, JR. to grow into an elected official.

And while we will never know what could have been it seems safe to assume that JFK, Jr. would have been the beneficiary of all the magic the Kennedy family can offer: an elder statesman hitting the campaign trail to work decades old relationships in his favor, a spotlight shy Caroline willing to emerge from the shadows to compare him to her father, Patrick serving as emcee for a crowd of rabid young voters thirsty for the kind of vision and inspiration that defined JFK and Bobby's legacy.

Only the candidate is black and his being black was never mentioned.

A pretty good day to be American.