Kerry to Endorse Obama
By Jeff Zeleny




John Kerry celebrates
with Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention
in Boston on July 29, 2004.
(Photo: Ron Edmonds/Associated Press)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senator John Kerry is set to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama at a rally here today, the first of several high-profile Democrats expected to announce their support for Mr. Obama in his fight to win the party’s nomination.
Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who was the party’s presidential nominee in 2004, will argue that Mr. Obama represents the best prospect for uniting a divided country, aides to both men said, as well as transforming America’s image around the world.
The endorsement is weeks in the making.
In the final days before the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Kerry was on the verge of endorsing Mr. Obama, several senior Democratic officials said, but a final decision wasn’t made because it wasn’t clear how it would affect the campaign. So Mr. Kerry decided to hold off on the endorsement until after the New Hampshire primary.
The endorsement ceremony today, on the campus of the College of Charleston, brings the relationship of the men full circle.

It was back in 2004 when Mr. Kerry selected Mr. Obama – then a state senator, vying for a U.S. Senate seat – to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. The speech elevated the stature of Mr. Obama almost overnight, launched the reprinting of his book, “Dreams From My Father,â€