Newest Kennedy on stump may renew family's franchise

The family's return as a major political presence isn't imminent; it may not be that far off, though. A candidate for a Massachusetts seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is Joseph P. Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and a grandnephew of the president and the senator. He's running in a congressional district now largely represented by Democratic Representative Barney Frank, who's retiring.

It's not just the name; veteran politicians and Kennedy-watchers say the 31-year-old is the real deal. He draws comparisons to the young Jack Kennedy, and especially to Ted Kennedy in his first race for the Senate in 1962: Both were a little beyond their 30th birthdays, and it was their first bid for office after serving stints as county prosecutors.

An even more relevant analogy, longtime politicians say, is that Joseph Kennedy is a natural, as were his illustrious great- uncles.

"I have been around politics for a long time and only occasionally you meet someone with special skills and ability and genuine warmth," says former Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat. "I don't care what his name is; that's Joe."