Kennedy stumps Milford for Obama

Milford — After the 1963 assassination of his brother President John F. Kennedy, the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy did not make a public appearance until attending a St. Patrick’s Day parade near Milford in March 1964. Over 44 years later, RFK’s youngest daughter Rory Kennedy visited the area for the first time to advocate support for presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. Kennedy, an award-winning documentarian, filmmaker and producer, rallied for Obama outside Hotel Fauchere on E. Catharine Street, amid a crowd of nearly 100 on Saturday. In her hour-long speech, 39-year-old Kennedy said her career has provided her with opportunities to meet people everywhere who say they still admire her uncle and father. Some of these people have Kennedy family photos in their houses, and cry upon meeting her. “It is, of course, very moving. But in my mind, I can only imagine what they are talking about,” she said. “Because in my lifetime, I have never been inspired by a politician in such a way. That is — until Barack Obama came along,” Kennedy said. Later, inside the Fauchere’s Bar Louis, Susan Halliday-Grimes of Hemlock Farms said she enjoyed the Obama rally, and offered Kennedy words of wisdom in her support for the Democrat. “I spoke to Rory and told her what her [pro-life] grandmother would want in relation to abortion, and I pray Obama will come to the same conclusion,” 75-year-old Halliday-Grimes said. “If Obama makes it in — and he will — it will be for the benefit of my 25-plus grandkids.” Before heading off to Scranton for another rally, Kennedy scratched out several autographs and posed for fan photos. She said she was pleased with her visit to “beautiful and fabulous” Milford, and urges all its residents to volunteer and vote for Obama. “Milford has always held a warm place in our family’s heart,” she said.