Rise of the machines

Tomorrow's news will bring us a declaration of war from the Kennedy machine against the Clinton machine with the Democratic nomination as the prize:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy will endorse Barack Obama for president tomorrow, breaking his year-long neutrality to send a powerful signal of where the legendary Massachusetts Democrat sees the party going -- and who he thinks is best to lead it.

Kennedy confidantes told the Globe today that the Bay State's senior senator will appear with Obama and Kennedy's niece, Caroline Kennedy, at a morning rally at American University in Washington tomorrow to announce his support.

That will be a potentially significant boost for Obama as he heads into a series of critical primaries on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The Kennedy machine is the force that slapped down Howard Dean in the 2004 primaries, which means that it should have plenty of media power to throw against the Clintons in 2008. This means that the Clintons might have to accept slightly less than total media dominance in an election campaign. The prospect of having to appear in public or interact with other human beings in public without 100%-friendly media coverage is, quite simply, Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare come true.