BELMAR - Appearing Wednesday night here at the Barclay in support of Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, Caroline Kennedy reached back to 1980 when her late uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, campaigned for the presidency and won the Democratic Primary in New Jersey.
"I remember campaigning with Teddy in Elizabeth, Jersey City and Hoboken, and that victory you gave to him meant the most to him," said Kennedy, recalling other campaign visits throughout the years too, but dwelling on that Jersey win, when incumbent President Jimmy Carter defeated her uncle in 24 of 34 primaries but failed to turn him back here.
When Corzine mentioned how the senator, who died on August 25th after battling brain cancer, stood in the same spot in 2005 to help Corzine in his first run for the governorship, State Party Chairman Joe Cryan choked up at the memory before the governor added, "Nobody looks out for Jon Corzine like this Irishman, Joe Cryan."
There was sustained applause for Cryan and the late Kennedy from this Irish-American crowd that packed the split-level bar and banquet hall a block away from the capital beach for a community hovering at near 16% of the total population in New Jersey, for whom Caroline Kennedy remains a beloved symbol.
Corzine then invoked another Irish politician in the room, former Gov. Brendan Byrne, who occupied the chair of honor between Kennedy on one side, and a stage packed with Irish-American Mayors, including Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, on the other.
Tags: Banquet Hall, Beloved Symbol, Brain Cancer, Brendan Byrne, Campaign Visits, Caroline Kennedy, Cryan, Democratic Gov, Democratic Primary, Edward Kennedy, Gov Jon Corzine, Incumbent President, Irish Politician, Irishman, Jersey City Mayor, Jon Corzine, Mayor Jerramiah Healy, New Jersey Politics, Party Chairman, President Jimmy Carter, Split Level