Barack Obama came away from Saturday's shellacking of Hillary Clinton in South Carolina with more than a few delegates: Ted Kennedy, elder statesmen of liberal politics, is throwing his considerable heft (bloat?) behind Obama’s candidacy. And of course his niece Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter, also endorsed Obama in the Times. What will be the impact of Camelot’s endorsement? Not much? Or, as seems to be the popular consensus, a whole lot?

• John Nichols says the double Kennedy endorsement is Barack’s most important and should especially help him in the Northeast and California. [Nation]

• Jonathan Cohn says Ted’s endorsement will help ameloriate one of Obama’s greatest political shortcomings — his not being progressive enough. [The Plank/New Republic]

• Mathew Yglesias agrees, remarking that this will help dispel notions that Obama has “shrines to David Broder and Ronald Reagan in his basement.” [Atlantic]

• Mark Ambinder thinks Ted’s endorsement will help Obama further separate himself from the era of the Clintons and align himself with pre-Clinton Democratic politics. [Atlantic]

• Mark Halperin discusses the benefits of the endorsement — Ted's popularity with Latinos and unions! Abundant press coverage! — in convenient list form. [The Page/Time]

• What finally pushed Ted into the Obama camp? Bill Clinton. [WP]

• Even a personal entreaty from Hillary herself — oh, actually, Bill — couldn’t change Ted’s mind. [NYT]

• All this reminds Ezra Klein that Ted, and a lot of other Obama endorsers, don’t seem to fear a backlash from the Clinton machine. [American Prospect]
—Dan Amira