Obama took South Carolina's primary in a rout on Saturday, winning 55 percent to Sen. Hillary Clinton's 27 percent in what political analysts are saying could be a critical ramp up to the Super Tuesday contest on Feb. 5, where nearly two dozen states will be in play, including delegate-rich California, New York and New Jersey. Former Sen. John Edwards came in third in South Carolina with 18 percent of the vote.

But perhaps equally devastating to the Clinton campaign was news that Sen. Ted Kennedy, a longtime supporter of Sen. Clinton and the symbolic face of an American dynasty, is expected to formally endorse Obama later this afternoon, reports The New York Times. The Clinton campaign has been requesting Kennedy maintain a neutral stance in the contest, but Kennedy was reportedly troubled by the injection of race into the campaign, as well as recent comments made by President Bill Clinton downplaying Obama's South Carolina win by comparing it to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's victories in the same state in 1984 and 1988. His niece, Caroline Kennedy, also endorsed Obama this weekend.

"Over the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president," Kennedy wrote. "We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama."

Clinton's comments were replayed on several news outlets over the weekend and criticized as casting Obama as the "Black candidate" who would only be capable of winning states with a large Black voting populace. Black voters in South Carolina supported Obama 4-to-1 over Clinton, reports CNN.com. Among white voters, Obama took 25 percent of the vote while Clinton and Edwards split the remainder.   

Speaking on the ABC program "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on Sunday, Obama responded, "Jesse Jackson ran historic races in 1984 and 1988, and there's no doubt that set a precedent for African Americans running for the highest office in the land. I think people want change. I think they want to get beyond some of the racial politics that have been so dominant in the past."

Obama also picked up  endorsements from author Toni Morrison and Congressman Xavier Becerra. Becerra serves on the House and Ways Committee and, as assistant to the Speaker of the House, is the highest-ranking Latino in the House.