Caroline Kennedy Compares 2012 Election To JFK’s 1960 Election At DNC Speech [Video]

Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline Kennedy (later Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), says that watching the battle between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney reminds her a lot of her father’s election back in 1960.

Caroline Kennedy is now 54 years old, just a child when her family lived at the White House in an era known as Camelot. But the daughter of JFK and niece of Teddy Kennedy grew up steeped in one of America’s most enduring political dynasties, and she says she sees many echoes of her own family’s work in that of President Obama.

Speaking to an arena of delegates fired up by the barn-burner delivered by Bill Clinton the night before, Caroline Kennedy spoke to a crowd of staunch Dems and those watching at home, saying:

“Over the past four years, we have had a president who has committed himself and his administration to the values that made America great — economic fairness, equal opportunity, and the belief that if each of us gives back to this country we love, all of us work together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome.”

Caroline continued:

“Those are the ideals my father and my uncles fought for. Those are the ideals I believe in. And this election is about whether we will advance those ideals or let them be swept away.”

It seems that with the DNC, the strongest critique of the Democrats — that they shied away from their platform and cowed to the GOP on major issues — began to fade. But, as Caroline Kennedy notes, President Obama already made a bold move at great political risk and one that was an ideal Teddy Kennedy backed strongly until his dying day:

“He has the quality my father most admired in public life — courage … Despite critics who said it wasn’t good politics, President Obama listened to my Uncle Teddy, and staked his presidency on making healthcare accessible to all Americans.”

Kennedy also appealed to religious Americans who may be on the fence in regards to women’s issues, saying that, as a Catholic, she supports a platform in which women are permitted dominion over their reproductive future and noting that, during her dad’s presidency 50 years ago, the same rights were being fought for:

“As a Catholic woman, I take reproductive health seriously, and today, it is under attack … This year alone, more than a dozen states have passed more than 40 restrictions on women’s access to reproductive healthcare.”

Caroline continued:

“That’s not the kind of future I want for my daughters or your daughters. Now isn’t the time to roll back the rights we were winning when my father was president.”

You can watch Caroline Kennedy’s full DNC speech below: