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Feb 1, 2008 6:26 am US/Eastern
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Daniel Patrick Moynihan's Widow Endorses Obama
NEW YORK (AP) ―
The widow of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the Democratic senator who helped Hillary Clinton in her first bid for the Senate, endorsed Barack Obama for president on Thursday, saying she believes her late husband would "applaud" her choice.
Elizabeth B. Moynihan said her husband, who died in 2003, would have been surprised that "so many close Senate friends he respected were competing for the nomination" and she called Clinton "a very good senator."
But she said he would have become "excited," as she has, "to see Barack Obama rekindle hope in our young as he encourages them to participate in the political process."
"I know Pat would approve, applaud and encourage me to join Caroline Kennedy in supporting Barack Obama's candidacy for the democratic nomination for President of the United States," she wrote in an e-mail, citing Caroline Kennedy's opinion piece endorsing Obama in last Sunday's New York Times.
In 1999, Clinton—an Illinois native who spent most of her life in Arkansas and Washington—announced her candidacy for Moynihan's Senate seat at his farmhouse in upstate New York, with him and his wife standing next to her, lending their support.
At the time, Moynihan, who served in the Senate 24 years, retiring in 2001, told reporters: "I'm here to say that I hope she will go all the way. I mean to go all the way with her. I think she's going to win."
A message left with Clinton's campaign seeking comment was not immediately returned Thursday.
In other endorsements Thursday, the New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association, which represents 25,000 members statewide, gave the nod to Clinton for president, saying she has fought for firefighters during her time in Washington.
Among other measures, Clinton co-sponsored a law that provides health monitoring for firefighters and other first responders in the event of terror attacks or natural disasters.
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