Caroline Kennedy sees Obama carrying on JFK legacy

Former first daughter Caroline Kennedy has thrown her support behind Sen. Barack Obama, calling him the presidential candidate most capable of carrying on the legacy of her late father, John F. Kennedy.

Caroline Kennedy's endorsement is a key one for Obama, whose camp has sought to portray him as a worthy heir to the former president's "Camelot" image.

Yet it remains to be seen whether Kennedy's uncle and Democratic party heavyweight Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) will also come out in favor of Obama ahead of the Feb. 5 primaries.

In a column today in the New York Times, titled ''A president like my father,'' Caroline Kennedy said she is backing Obama because he offers the same uplifting message of hope and change that her father did when he ran for president in 1960.

"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans," Kennedy wrote in the editorial.

She also credited Obama with making "the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning."

Obama, who scored a big win Saturday in South Carolina, issued a statement calling it "a special privilege to have [Kennedy's] endorsement because I've always believed that Caroline's father was one of our greatest presidents."

It isn't the first time the daughter of an iconic politician has helped boost Obama in an important race.

In an interesting parallel, Sheila Simon, daughter of the late Sen. Paul Simon, vouched for Obama on her father's behalf in a powerful TV ad that some strategists say helped Obama win his U.S. Senate seat.