Let me tell you a story about the beginning of Camelot. Back when a young and lanky John Kennedy first ran for Congress, his father Joseph Kennedy effectively served as campaign manager. The Kennedy patriarch was not a man who left matters to chance. His son proved to have formidable charms and the campaign spending was heavy. But old Joe Kennedy was still concerned victory could escape them.

Joseph Kennedy and advisers had a problem in Boston. There was only one Italian American on the ballot, Joseph Russo. The Kennedy circle believed Russo might win all of the district's Italian American votes. So what happened? Another Joseph Russo appeared on the ballot. There were two Russos. It helped John win the plurality in a ten-person primary. That was November 1946 and John Kennedy was only 29-years-old.

Flash forward to next week's tight Senate race to fill Edward Kennedy's seat. Between the Republican and Democratic candidates is, as every political junkie knows, a man named Joe Kennedy. This third party candidate affiliates himself with the conservative Tea Party movement. Conventionally, that means he would siphon off votes from the GOP candidate. But Democrats are worried some voters could mistake the candidate Joe Kennedy, unknown information technology executive, for Camelot's Joseph Kennedy, a namesake heir apparent. Somewhere, perhaps, Joseph Russo is laughing.

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