Meet the Newest Kennedy

By Amy Wilentz.

On his way to a fund raiser, keyed up about his speech, Joe Kennedy repeats his political mantra to himself: "Democracy, opportunity, America . . ." His navy gabardine campaign suit is shiny by now from overuse on the trail. "Democracy, opportunity, America . . ." At a luncheon for 250 elderly people, the tousled candidate gives his stump speech in a booming voice, chopping the air in disjointed fashion, stressing almost every word. His speeches feel like workouts. Then Kennedy bounds from the podium. No cheek goes unkissed.

Joseph Kennedy II has a little bit of a lot of Kennedys in him: his father Robert's unceasing energy and passion; his grandfather Joseph's single-minded dedication to winning; and his uncle Ted's occasional inarticulateness, mitigated by only a touch of the bemused self-awareness that was part of the wit and style of his late uncle the President. But the Kennedy trait that carries Joe is the physical charisma and boundless (albeit often unfocused) energy that have become a family trademark.

At 34, Joe is the eldest male among the 28 cousins who make up the third Kennedy generation. In 1979, after a checkered academic past, Kennedy formed Citizens Energy, a nonprofit corporation that distributes low-cost heating oil in Massachusetts. Throughout his race for the Cambridge seat being vacated by House Speaker Tip O'Neill, Kennedy has campaigned on a platform of fiscal responsibility, shunning the kind of straightforward, do-good liberalism that he advocated in his younger days.

Kennedy defeated his opponent, Businessman Clark Abt, 72% to 28%. Characteristically, he puts his victory in emotional perspective: "If you just do it the way you really believe it should be done, there is some justice." (His sister Kathleen Kennedy Townsend did not fare so well in her bid for Congress. She lost to incumbent Maryland Republican Helen Delich Bentley, 41% to 59%.) Kennedy has been faulted for his impulsive nature; he is no intellectual and appears unreflective. "Clearly, he's not a great thinker," says one longtime Massachusetts political observer. "But he makes up for it by doing." A close friend notes, "He's incredibly competitive. Imagine racing him in a 100-yard dash with a brick wall at the 101st yard. I'd start slowing down at the 90th yard, but Joe will run full tilt to win the race, even though he is certain to hit the wall."

Kennedy's combativeness often works to his advantage. Before a debate during the primary race, Kennedy's staff heard that his principal rival, George Bachrach, intended to confront him with a question about Citizens Energy's possible links with Libya. A check showed there was no connection. When Bachrach leveled the charge, Kennedy sprang a counterattack. "Libya offered Sirhan Sirhan asylum after he killed my father," he said, eyes blazing. "For you to think for one second that Citizens Energy would have anything to do with Libya is just totally off base." The race was never close after that.

Kennedy admits that he has no grand national vision. His premise is simple. "The truth is that hardworking families are struggling and unable to participate fully in the American dream," he says. "That's not right." Says one campaign adviser: "There's still a child's simplistic view of the world in him. He doesn't understand that the world is a place of massive grays." In Congress that may cause problems. "Joe is still volatile and combative," says a veteran of Ted Kennedy's 1980 campaign. Those qualities do not ease one's way through a political body where compromise is highly rewarded. A short fuse is particularly dangerous for a politician who, by virtue of his name alone, will always stand in the spotlight of public attention. But Joe is not particularly worried. "I've played on plenty of football teams," he says. "And I'm used to being one of 22."

With reporting by Joelle Attinger/Boston