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:woohoo: Boston GlobeCaroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has invited the Democratic presidential contenders to a mid-December debate at her father's presidential library, she said Monday.
"President Kennedy championed public service and viewed politics as a noble and honorable profession," Kennedy said in a statement. "It is therefore fitting that his library host a debate for the American people among the candidates who seek to lead our nation."
Co-sponsoring the Dec. 17 debate would be CNN, which would air the meeting nationally, and The Politico, which would allow viewers to ask questions through its Web site, http://www.politico.com.
The invitation, though, could present a dilemma for the eight Democratic candidates. It also could test the political clout of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the slain president's brother and Caroline Kennedy's uncle. Many of the candidates are actively courting the endorsement of the senator, a liberal icon who is intimately involved in library affairs.
The Democratic National Committee, acting on the behest of the candidates, announced in April it was sanctioning six debates from July through December before the 2008 primaries and caucuses. They already have been scheduled, with the last slated for Dec. 10 in Los Angeles.
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