Rep. Joe Kennedy Makes a Run for the Senate; Politicians and Babies.
ALLEN: The U.S. Senate may have another member of the Kennedy family serving in it soon. Congressman Joe Kennedy III announced he is running for Senate. Despite his famous last name, he will have to beat a fellow Democrat who has been in office for more than four decades. Athena Jones has our story.</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Congressman Kennedy's run sets up a fight between two political powerhouses. You have Senator Ed Markey, who's been in the Senate since 1976, longer than Kennedy has been alive. And you have a Kennedy, the grandson of Bobby Kennedy, running for office, running for Senate in a city and state that has shown a lot of love for the Kennedys over the years. While some expect this to be the race centers around a generational argument since both candidates largely agree on major issues. Congressman Kennedy argues it's going to be more than that. He has new ideas, a new approach. He says Democrats need to do more in 2020 than to defeat President Trump and he's talking about big structural changes to what he calls a broken system. I asked him how he's going to differentiate himself from Senator Markey? Here's part of his answer.</s>REP.  JOE KENNEDY, (D-MA): I disagree on a number of areas. To begin with, one, structural reform. We need to get PAC money out of our system. I've rejected that. Senator Markey has not. I believe that you need to call for term limits for the Supreme Court to try to lower the temperature in the partisanship. I believe we need to abolish the Electoral College so you get the president that this country votes for and wants. I look forward to seeing Senator Markey's views on more than that. And more than that. It's about economic justice. I've laid out a wide variety of plans that I think we need to engage in order to make our economic system far more fair. But, yes, there's going to be areas where we overlap and he's been a strong leader on climate.</s>JONES: One more --</s>JONES: Kennedy made his announcement here in East Boston because this is where -- just steps away from this very spot, his father's parents first arrived here from Ireland in 1848. And he highlighted his family's long history of public service in his remarks. And I should note there, as I mentioned before, there's a lot of love for Kennedys in this state. The latest poll from "The Boston Globe" and Suffolk University that came out just after Labor Day shows Kennedy way ahead, 14 points ahead of Markey in a head-to-head matchup and 9 points ahead of Markey in the rest of the field with the other primary challengers when you look at the whole field.</s>ALLEN: Athena Jones reporting for us there. Well, as the U.S. presidential candidates can tell you, it is not easy to be on the campaign trail, especially when you have to compete against crying babies for attention. Jeanne Moos has our story.</s>JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When candidates interact with babies, it usually makes you say, aww.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, you got to basically say it.</s>MOOS: But sometimes, instead of inspiring awe, they inspire irritation.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we could keep that down a little bit? OK, thanks.</s>MOOS: But babies don't take orders. Even from potential presidents. This one kept fussing.</s>MOOS (voice-over): Babies are born with immunity to dirty looks. One day Bernie Sanders is kid friendly...</s>SANDERS: Oh, my goodness.</s>MOOS: -- the next day, he's literally waving them off. Trevor Noah once tried to imagine Bernie as a baby.</s>TREVOR NOAH, COMEDY CENTRAL HOST: Has Bernie just looked like this his entire life? Yes. I bet when he was born, the doctor was like, congratulations, Mrs. Sanders, it's a beautiful healthy old man. Well done.</s>MOOS: Bernie, evidently, doesn't believe in babying crybabies.</s>SANDERS: If we could keep that down a little bit.</s>MOOS: But he was almost nurturing compared to a certain someone.</s>TRUMP: You can get the baby out of here.</s>MOOS: Actually, the baby's mom was already headed out since then- candidate Trump had called attention to the crying a minute or two earlier.</s>TRUMP: Don't worry about that baby. I love babies, so. I love babies.</s>MOOS: Trump has gone so far as to sign a baby.</s>TRUMP: Look at that baby. So cute. Oh, give me that.</s>MOOS: Sometimes a crying baby can be a political asset. Back in 2012.</s>BIDEN: I don't blame that baby for crying. She just realized what it means if Romney gets elected.</s>MOOS: Now in 2019, Joe Biden still zeroes in on the well-placed baby.</s>BIDEN: Pregnancy is no longer a pre-existing condition.</s>MOOS: Dad popped up for a selfie. Even when they grow up, this kid desperately wanted to hug the president. He flexed his hugging muscles, went in for the kill but pulled back and feigned nonchalance until, finally, the politicians are hoping some of that cuteness rubs off on them -- Jeanne Moos, CNN...</s>HARRIS: He's just charming me.</s>MOOS: -- New York.</s>ALLEN: Thanks for watching this hour. I'm Natalie Allen. CNN NEWSROOM continues right after this with our top stories.