Those words could have been written about Barack Obama's rise to the presidency last year but actually come from coverage about the ascendancy of John F. Kennedy to the White House.

Kennedy's presidency is remembered as "Camelot," for the Broadway show about an idealized King Arthur's Court that opened the month after Kennedy won the presidency in November 1960.

After JFK's assassination in 1963, the Camelot legacy was handed down to younger brother Robert Kennedy, who served as John Kennedy's attorney general and was later elected to the Senate from New York.

Ted Kennedy assumed the mantle after Robert Kennedy was assassinated during his run for the presidency in 1968.

And with the death of the youngest Kennedy brother, the question arises: Has Obama become the Kennedy family's heir apparent?

Many saw Kennedy's endorsement of Obama in the Democratic primaries last year as his handing the keys to Camelot to someone outside the family.

Kennedy's son Patrick, a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, has kept a relatively low profile in Congress and has faced substance abuse problems that have led to stints in rehab facilities.

JFK's daughter, Caroline, stepped into the political spotlight recently, only later to drop out of the running for Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat.

Robert Kennedy's son Joe was derailed after a messy personal life involving a high-profile annulment, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

Others, like Robert Kennedy Jr., have careers in public service outside of government.

But Stephen Hess, a former staffer in the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations and an adviser to presidents Ford and Carter, says that right now, there are no other Kennedys to assume Ted Kennedy's place in American politics.

"These families can kind of go into a quiet state and then can flare up again. ... It doesn't look like there is a Kennedy in the immediate future and the nation's political history," he said. "No one will ever count out the Kennedys, and so there will be others."

"We often keep turning to the same names. ... At the moment, it does not appear that there will be a Kennedy in the Congress other than his son," he added.

Hess, who wrote the book "America's Political Dynasties," says that while there are comparisons to be made, Obama is not necessarily the heir apparent.

"He's a voice of his own, had his own agenda. ... He will build his own legacy," he said of the president.

Sen. Kennedy, deemed the Lion of the Senate, was an early, vocal supporter of Obama's primary and general election campaigns, despite having a longtime history with the Clintons.

In late January 2007, Kennedy endorsed Obama and drew parallels to his brother's legendary Camelot and the "new frontier."

"I remember another such time, in the 1960s, when I came to the Senate at the age of 30. We had a new president who inspired the nation, especially the young, to seek a new frontier," Kennedy said. "I know what America can achieve. I've seen it. I've lived it. And with Barack Obama, we can do it again."

Douglas Brinkley, a well-known presidential historian and professor at Rice University, says it's not sure that Obama would have won the Democratic nomination without Kennedy's endorsement and that noteworthy part of his speech.

"At that famous moment when Sen. Kennedy endorsed Obama, it was handing over the Kennedy legacy to him," he said.

The Kennedy dynasty, known for a history of national public service, has spent decades championing the rights of working men and women, with an emphasis on health care, education and community service programs, among other things.

The family, often considered America's royals, has faced tragedy and success.