European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine another by William Poole United press International f rom the Day of his birth Joseph p. Kennedy ii was thrust into a family tradition that has put his clan at the Pinnacle of american politics. They Tell me the night i was born sept. 20, 1952my Mother was at a rally in fall River for my Uncle Jack and they rushed her up to St. Elizabeths Hospital where i was delivered. I guess i was born into a political Campaign and it s always been a part o my Day to Day life Kennedy explains. He is the first of his generation the 30 grandchildren of patriarch Joseph Kennedy to take the family name and sense of social responsibility into the 1986 Campaign wars. He is one of a slew of hopefuls including James Roosevelt jr., grandson of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt vying for the seat of retiring House speaker tip o Neill a seat held previously by Joe s Uncle John f. Kennedy. Joe 33, declared his candidacy a few Days ahead of his older sister Kathleen Kennedy Townsend 34, a lawyer running for a congressional seat in Maryland. The curly haired Joe ii is the eldest son of sen. Robert Kennedy and Nephew of John Kennedy and of the clan s current political patriarch sen. Edward Kennedy a mass. Juk was just out of the Navy after world War ii when he used the 8th congressional District in Massachusetts to launch his own career in 1946. Forty years later Young Joe has drawn the National political spotlight Back to the family s Liberal political turf. The 8th District is an ethnic and cultural amalgam that includes Ivy covered Harvard University in Cambridge the trendy boutiques and restaurants of Boston s Back Bay the Blue Collar rough and Tumble political hotbed of Somerville and the South end a transitional Boston neighbourhood of Row houses and shelters for the homeless that is struggling with gentrification. Like most elections in the heavily democratic Bay state the real race is in the sept. 16 democratic primary the november general election invariably Coronatus the democratic contender. The candidate who stands 6-foot-2 and has the football player build of a younger Uncle Teddy is imbued with Kennedy Charm and flashes his Broad smile with ease. His voice has the Kennedy cadence. He projects the same kind of ask not what your country can do for you image that his Uncle Jack did 25 years ago. I was raised in a Jamily with a Long tradition of engagement in politics and Public life he said. Yes we have had a lot going for us As everyone knows. But we were taught that our Good Fortune did not absolve us from responsibility for our Fellows and for our country. Rather it imposed a very special duty to the less fortunate and very special love for the country that made it hits the Campaign Trai Joseph p. Kennedy ii in his Cambridge mass., Campaign Headquarters. Up photo All  one of his chief Campaign themes is an attack on bureaucratic inefficiency. You Don t solve problems by simply throwing Money at them. You be got to mobilize people s spirit. You be got to be smart and sophisticated about How you Structure programs Kennedy says. He Points to citizens Energy corp., a non profit $1 billion firm he started to provide Massachusetts poor with heating fuel at below Market prices. Last year they paid roughly half the Market Price for it. To Date the program has provided More than 30 million Gallons of Oil to 300,000 poor households. Kennedy founded citizens Energy in 1980 after he became disillusioned with working in a Federal anti poverty operation the Community services administration. It was an Agency that had lost the spirit of the War against poverty and seemed More interested in maintaining the poor in poverty and thereby keeping jobs for bureaucrats Kennedy said. I got very turned off about the notion that somehow we can solve our problems by just throwing Money at them without having any real spirit of pulling the country together. So i just figured i d go out on my  in a spartan Campaign office adorned Only with a hand drawn Campaign poster Kennedy who is paid $65,000 annually to Lead citizens Energy said his problem solving approach defies a Yuppie and me generation materialistic ethic that he blames on indulgent government policies giving huge tax Breaks to Rich and powerful interests. What you have is people spending $50 on designer jeans when you can go out and buy a pair of Levis or wranglers for 10 or 12 Bucks. It ends up with government giving you All this Money Back and you Start abandoning traditional values. That s where i think you be got to go Back to those More traditional values of working together facing up to very Tough and difficult problems Kennedy said. I think the spirit is out there. Americans care about other americans. If you re not crying Wolf and you provide people with a reasonable plan to solve a problem you can do it. And people will work together As Long As they Don t smell baloney he said. If they smell baloney they re going to walk away from  Kennedy credits his father Bobby who was assassinated during his 1968 presidential bid As his prime role Model. Remember All the things that Jack started be kind to others that Are less fortunate than we Are and love our country his father told him just after his Uncle the president was shot to death in 1963. Five years later Joe became the Man of the House a tall 16-year-old who helped carry the casket of his slain father into new York s St. Patrick s Cathedral while millions watched on television. My father was by far and away the greatest influence on my life. He just had such tremendous Faith in people and could get them to do things he says. The Burden of the Kennedy mystique and the Public attention it demands has not always been easy for Joe. When he was 20, he was driving a jeep like vehicle involved in a tragic Accident on Nantucket Island that left a teen age girl paralysed. He admitted guilt and was convicted of negligent driving. The Sharp Edge of sadness and tragedy is revealed when he is asked How he feels americans should Deal with terrorists. As a Guy who has been through it personally i think we ought to be As compassionate As possible to the victims of terrorism he says shifting from a mood of Confidence to one of concern. From my own personal experience and from what i have read the terrorists Are just crazy. The adrenaline is just pumping in them and they re ready to blow themselves up and All the rest of it. It needs someone who is going to take the venom out of the situation and hopefully then you can get to the Point where More serious negotiations can begin to take  when Kennedy announced his candidacy late last year he resided with his wife Sheila and twin 5-year-old sons Joseph Iii and Matthew in Marshfield a South Shore Community outside the District. He planned to move into a Home in the Brighton Section of Boston to establish voter residency. In this Campaign he is More of a target for criticism than his opponents and has received far More National Media attention because of his political Bloodline. One rival tried to inject the personal wealth Issue in the Campaign by proposing a $500,000-per-candidate Campaign spending limit. Kennedy said he would go along but Only if the others did. At least one of the others objected and the Issue was deflated. While the 8th District Battle has barely begun it is not without incident. At the first debate among most of the candidates Roosevelt alluded to some of Kennedy s Young workers having ripped Down his Campaign signs. Kennedy who paid $100 to replace the signs reacted to Roosevelt s mentioning of the incident As if he were the target at a roast rather than a political debate. He flashed a Good natured rather than embarrassed smile. Monday March 24, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13