Obama: Kennedy 'not done just yet'

MIDDLETOWN, Conn., May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama, speaking Sunday at Wesleyan University's commencement, said he has "a feeling that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet."

Obama was a substitute commencement speaker, taking the place of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., following Kennedy's illness and diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor.

"It is rare in this country of ours that a person exists who has touched the lives of nearly every single American without any of us even realizing it," said Obama. "And I have a feeing that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet."

Citing Kennedy's record in public life, Obama called on his audience to work toward changing the country through public service, The New York Times reported.

"Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you'll play in writing the next great chapter in America's story," Obama said.

Obama's audience Sunday was made up of about 10,000 official attendees and an estimated 5,000 people who gathered on a nearby hillside to hear the speech, the newspaper said.