Today on the Presidential Campaign Trail

IN THE HEADLINES

Sen. Kennedy endorses Barack Obama for president, plans to campaign for Democrat ... Romney criticizes McCain's legislative history ... Clinton, shifting focus from Obama, says Bush has lost touch with an anxious public ... Giuliani seeks one more 'I told you so' in high-stakes Florida primary ... A frosty moment between Clinton, Obama.

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Sen. Kennedy backs Obama for president

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Two generations of Kennedys _ the Democratic Party's best known political family _ endorsed Barack Obama for president on Monday. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy called his fellow Democrat a "man with extraordinary gifts of leadership and character," a worthy heir to his assassinated brother.

"I feel change in the air," Kennedy said in remarks salted with scarcely veiled criticism of Obama's chief rival for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as her husband, the former president.

Kennedy's endorsement was ardently sought by all three of the remaining presidential contenders, and he delivered it at a pivotal time in the race. A liberal lion in his fifth decade in the Senate, the Massachusetts senator is in a position to help Obama court Hispanic voters as well as rank-and-file members of labor unions, two key elements of the Democratic Party.

Obama is also airing state-specific ads featuring praise from other elected officials, hoping the endorsements can help raise his profile in the race. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Kent Conrad of North Dakota are appearing in ads for Obama, as he seeks to introduce himself to voters in the 22 states holding Feb. 5 contests.

Earlier Monday, the woman who famously labeled Bill Clinton as the "first black president" endorsed Obama to be the second. Author Toni Morrison said her endorsement had little to do with Obama's race _ he is the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas _ but rather his personal talents.

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Romney says McCain bills favored 'liberal Democrat course'

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Mitt Romney and John McCain accused each other Monday of harboring liberal tendencies, a charge bordering on blasphemy in the increasingly caustic campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney struck first on the day before the winner-take-all Florida primary, criticizing the Arizona senator for his legislation reducing the role of money in politics, for his position on immigration and for his support of an energy bill that he said would have driven up consumer costs.

"If you ask people, 'Look at the three things Senator McCain has done as a senator,' if you want that kind of a liberal Democratic course as president, then you can vote for him," Romney told campaign workers. "But those three pieces of legislation, those aren't conservative, those aren't Republican, those are not the kind of leadership that we need as we go forward."

McCain answered swiftly, accusing the former Massachusetts governor of "wholesale deception of voters. On every one of the issues he has attacked us on, Mitt Romney was for it before he was against it."

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Clinton: Bush has lost touch with public

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Hillary Rodham Clinton relegated her chief Democratic rival to the rhetorical sidelines Monday and focused her criticism on President Bush, saying he had lost touch with the concerns of an anxious public.

In a speech to more than 1,000 people jammed in a gymnasium, Clinton did not refer to the fight with Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her audience, which included an equal number listening in an adjoining room, roared with approval when the former first lady took note of the Republican president's dwindling time in office.

"Tonight is a red-letter night in American history," she said. "It is the last time George Bush will give the State of the Union. Next year it will be a Democratic president giving it."

The competition between Clinton and Obama has grown increasingly testy heading into next week's enormous round of primaries. But at least on this day, Clinton took on Bush, using the State of the Union address to highlight her differences with the commander in chief.

Also Monday, Clinton picked up the endorsement of Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

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Giuliani seeks to prove experts wrong

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) _ Rudy Giuliani loves to prove people wrong, and that is just what he is trying to do in Florida.

Polls show the former New York mayor, last year's national front-runner, trailing badly in the state where he has bet almost everything in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination.

Wins on Tuesday, and he will earned the biggest, brashest "I told you so" of his career.

Lose, and Giuliani may be uttering his final words of the campaign.

"Wednesday morning, we'll make a decision," he told reporters between campaign appearances.

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A frosty moment between Clinton, Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The state of their union? Icy.

Rival Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama came within a foot of one another just before President Bush's State of the Union speech Monday night and managed not to acknowledge each other.

It was quite a feat, given the packed House floor, the customary bear-hugging and jostling among other members. Then a doorkeeper sat the rivals in the same row, only an aisle and four senators between them.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was not caught in the middle. The Democrat from the iconic political family had taken sides earlier in the day when he endorsed Obama over Clinton. Kennedy was seated beside Obama, away from Clinton.

Nonetheless, Kennedy reached out to shake Clinton's hand when she came up the aisle. Clinton took Kennedy's hand. They shook. Obama had turned away.

A doorkeeper, caught in that highly awkward dance, cringes in the photo that captures the moment.

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Weather forecast for parts of Florida on Tuesday:

Conditions in Tallahassee: Partly cloudy with a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms late. High 71, low 52.

Conditions in Miami: Mostly sunny. High 75, low 66.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Clinton stops in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Obama holds a rally in the District of Columbia. John Edwards campaigns in Tennessee and Missouri.

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THE REPUBLICANS

Romney, McCain and Rudy Giuliani campaign in Florida. Mike Huckabee has events in Tennessee and Florida.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates." _ Toni Morrison, in a letter endorsing Obama.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Undeclared voters make up 1,911,510 of those registered in Florida. Registered Democrats number 4,137,067, compared with 3,825,727 registered Republicans and 321,301 people affiliated with minor parties, according to Dec. 31, 2007, figures from the Florida Department of State.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.