Kennedy Support for Kerry Contingent on Timeline

ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports: When Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) was asked on "This Week" on March 6, 2005 if he agreed with Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was the 2008 Democratic front runner, Sen. Kennedy said he respected Sen. Clinton before adding, "My man is John Kerry."

Kennedy endorsed Kerry again last October in an interview with the Associated Press: "If he runs, I would support him," Kennedy said at the time.

But in a Monday interview with the Boston Globe, Kennedy dropped his public commitment to support Kerry in a 2008 presidential race, saying that he won’t wait "indefinitely" for Kerry to declare his intentions while the Democratic field takes shape.

In his interview with the Boston Globe, Kennedy offered strong praise for two of Kerry’s possible Democratic rivals: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Clinton, calling them "formidable figures" who are connecting with rank-and-file Democrats.

Within hours the Kerry camp said the junior senator from Massachusetts would be making a public decision shortly after the New Year. A spokeswoman for Kennedy told the Globe that if Kerry stays on that time line, Kerry would maintain Kennedy’s support.

Obama and Clinton were recently the star attractions at an intimate dinner at Kennedy’s home in DC’s Kalorama neighborhood for the members of the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee which Kennedy will soon chair and on which Obama and Clinton serve.

Kennedy played a key role in keeping Kerry’s 2004 presidential candidacy alive, stumping for him in Iowa when few thought he could win.

The full Globe article can be found here.