Washington, The battle for the Democratic party ticket has taken a keener edge with the Kennedys backing Barack Obama ahead of the Super Tuesday's coast to coast nomination contests in the US presidential race.

The Kennedys' endorsement for Obama hoping to be America's first black president was seen as another blow to former first lady Hillary Clinton's campaign for the White House after her massive defeat in last week's primary in South Carolina.

The lead in endorsing Obama was taken by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated Nov 22, 1963.

Comparing Obama to her father, in a weekend New York Times editorial, she wrote: "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."

Edward Kennedy, a liberal icon of the Democratic Party and a brother of the late president followed Monday, saying: "It is time again for a new generation of leadership. It is time now for Barack Obama."

Standing with Obama, his son, Patrick Kennedy, and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, before a screaming capacity crowd of students at American University in Washington, he said: "Like you, we want a president who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American dream. I've found that candidate. And it looks to me like you have too."

After Kennedy spoke, Obama told the boisterous crowed: "I know what your support means. I know the cherished place the Kennedy family holds in the hearts of the American people." Obama said he would work to carry on the vision of the slain president.

Kennedy's decision to endorse Obama could help his campaign as he seeks momentum toward Super Tuesday Feb 5, when 22 states and American Samoa will weigh in on the Democratic race. In polls, Obama has trailed Clinton nationally.

Obama, coming off the South Carolina victory, has been seeking to expand his support nationwide. He won that state with the help of a large majority of African-American voters, while most white voters supported Clinton or John Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee.

Hillary Clinton herself brushed off the Kennedy endorsements while aides noted other Kennedys have backed her to be the party's presidential nominee in the November election.

"At the end of the day this is not about anyone else other than the candidates," Clinton told reporters in a conference call from Connecticut. "I have the experience we need to make the changes we want in America."

Trying to dilute the impact of the twin endorsements by the brother and daughter of the late president, the Clinton campaign issued a statement of support from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor in Maryland and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, another brother of John Kennedy who too was assassinated.

The New York Times reported Monday that Kennedy endorsed Obama despite pleas from the Clinton camp to remain neutral in the Democratic race.

Kennedy decided to endorse Obama after becoming concerned about the often-bitter campaigning involving former President Bill Clinton before Saturday's South Carolina primary, which Obama won, the newspaper reported.

The Times said Kennedy was angry the former president had introduced what he felt were racial themes into the campaign and that Bill Clinton had made misleading statements about Obama, matters Kennedy and Clinton discussed during two heated telephone conversations earlier this month.

Aides to Edwards too vowed to compete in all 22 states Feb 5 and stay in the race through the Democratic convention in August, despite a disappointing third-place finish in South Carolina.

Republican presidential contenders, meanwhile, scrambled across Florida in a final hunt for votes on the eve of their biggest nomination test yet.

Democrats are not campaigning in Florida as the party leadership has stripped the state of its delegates for holding a primary before Feb 5 in defiance of party rules.

According to latest polls Senator John McCain leads 33 percent to 30 percent over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. McCain and Romney split the last three Republican nominating contests.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are battling for a distant third. But Giuliani discounted polls showing him trailing in his home state and Florida. "I win the primary in Florida, we'll be right back on top in a lot of these polls," he told CBS's "Early Show".

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