Looking for celebrity gossip, Sawyer reflected on Kennedy's glitzy February appearance with Obama: "You, Maria Shriver, Oprah, standing there for that morning of endorsement. Have you talked to each other? Did you talk to each other this weekend? What are you saying?" The ABC journalist even excitedly referenced the possibility of a position for her in the Obama administration. She bubbled, "So, the speculation game is already begun. And this morning, it is Caroline Kennedy ambassador to name-your-country."
Throughout the 2008 campaign, "Good Morning America" reporters have rhapsodized about the impact of the endorsement by Caroline and Senator Ted Kennedy. On September 15, 2008, correspondent Claire Shipman enthused that the Democratic family "the closest thing we have in this country to political royalty." On July 28, 2008, Jan Crawford Greenburg portrayed Caroline Kennedy as "a reluctant media star, stepping into the spotlight to back a man she says reminds her of her father [President John F. Kennedy]."
A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:11am on November 3, follows:
DIANE SAWYER: And before we move on, we want to get last-minute analysis from both campaigns. We begin with Senator Obama. I had a chance to speak earlier with campaign adviser Caroline Kennedy. Earlier this year, you may remember, she announced that she was going to be for Obama because she never seen a president who inspired her the way people have told her her father John Kennedy inspired them. But, I started by asking her, even with these poll numbers, if is there anything she's worried about for tomorrow?
CAROLINE KENNEDY: I'm always worried, but this has been a tremendous experience for me and I think for the country. And I think Barack Obama has led an incredible campaign and has gotten better and better. And I think, really, people have seen his judgment and his leadership. And he's been right on all the issues. So, I think, hopefully, if everybody gets out there, things will be good.
SAWYER: Going back and thinking historically, historically, it's been such a long campaign. You, Maria Shriver, Oprah, standing there for that morning of endorsement. Have you talked to each other? Did you talk to each other this weekend? What are you saying?
KENNEDY: Well, I think everybody's, you know, excited. Everybody's working and, I think, you know, I've been across the country, I was traveling and I've seen, people are waiting on lines to vote early. The excitement is high. You know, the excitement's high on both sides. I think people are really ready for a change. I think there's a tremendous sense of confidence in Barack Obama and Joe Biden. So, it will be great to call them up the morning after.
SAWYER: You're not e-mailing every five minutes and saying, what are you hearing? What are you hearing?
KENNEDY: Right. Well, I mean, you know, we're all watching TV. So, that's where we hear it.
SAWYER: Where are you going to watch?
KENNEDY: I'll be home. I'm going to see it with my kids. I have two children voting for the first time and one who is very frustrated that he is not old enough to vote.
SAWYER: So, the speculation game is already begun. And this morning, it is Caroline Kennedy ambassador to name-your-country.
KENNEDY: Oh, yeah, that's great.
SAWYER: You'd do it?
KENNEDY: Well, New York City. I like it right here in New York City. Ambassador to New York City, that's good.
SAWYER: Would you consider a role in an administration if it's an Obama administration?
KENNEDY: Well, I think first step obviously is that absolutely everybody gets out there and votes. And, so, that's kind of what I've been focused on.
SAWYER: One other item in the news, we read that your uncle, Senator Kennedy, is going back to Washington. Did he tell you why he decided to go back there?
KENNEDY: Well, I think he's great. I had breakfast with him yesterday. I was in Washington overnight. You know, I don't think people realize how hard he's been working from home over the course of the summer. So, he wants to get back. He wants to do health care. He wants to bring universal health care coverage to everybody in this country. And I think he feels with President Obama in the White House, he can finally get it done.
SAWYER: So, do you feel that what you wrote has been fulfilled? And that you do have a sense of excitement that people told you they felt with your father?
KENNEDY: Well, you know, every where I go, I meet people who, who voted for my father and sort of tell me that they haven't felt the same way since. And I think Barack Obama has brought a whole new generation in. There's a continuity of spirit, I think, which is spanning the generations, which is really, means a lot to me, I think, on a personal level, but I think it's going to be great for our country.
SAWYER: On this morning, any word to John McCain?
KENNEDY: Get out there and vote.
