Yep. Caroline Kennedy is fine. What's the difference anyway?

Meanwhile Geraldine Ferraro does not support her. I guess that goes in the very short plus column.

While I might be happy with Ms Kennedy's positions, this tendency towards the development of a political aristocracy must stop. We must consider the possibility that at some time in the future we might accidentally end up with an idiot drunken psychopathic ne'er-do-well in office.

She flatly refused to answer a pressing political query we posed: Will she support the Democratic nominee for New York mayor in 2009?

I thought of a promising solution to the Senate problem:

Appoint Bill Clinton to fill the next 2 years of the term - with a very public promise that he would not seek to run in the 2010 election for the remainder of the term. This has 3 things going for it - 1) unexpired vacancies are often filled by a spouse, 2) Clinton has the political chops that he wouldn't necessarily be consigned to the political oblivion that another "caretaker" would face, so NYS residents would have a high-powered, high-profile Senator, and 3)Clinton is a Statesman who resides in New York - he would be amenable to stepping up to the plate.
Then in 2010, if Caroline Kennedy, Andrew Cuomo, or anyone else wishes to run for the office, the field would be clear - no "appointed" incumbent would have been given an artificial leg up - and Kennedy or Cuomo or whomever can make their case to the voters.
Caroline Kennedy may someday make a great senator - but I think it would be better for all concerned if she started her political career by being elected rather than by being appointed.

On Hardball Friday evening, Kerry Kennedy was on the show, partly to push her recent book, Being Catholic Now, but also to very heartily endorse her cousin's Caroline's bid for the Senate seat. Matthews asked Kerry Kennedy straight out, what is Caroline's position on abortion? Kerry Kennedy tried to dodge, saying that she'd never discussed it with Caroline, and had no idea. Matthews then asked about the Second Amendment, gun control. Kerry Kennedy again refused to answer, saying something wishy-washy like "go read Caroline's book." It was painful to watch Kerry Kennedy get taken down, being so completely unprepared, unknowledgeable. I almost expected her to say, Palin-style, "in what respect, Charlie?"

Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg seems to be a bright and decent person. But she needs to run for the seat and win it on her own.

Kerry Kennedy also had a very ugly divorce from Andrew Cuomo, so I'd take anything she says with a large grain of salt.

If Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg wants to be a U.S. Senator, then by all means, she's free to run for the post in the next election. Her name recognition alone gives her a jump start on anyone else in the race.

The mystique and cache attached to her maiden name, however, shouldn't be used by Gov. Paterson as an excuse to trump his consideration of other worthy candidates to that office who actually possess a bona fide political record of public accomplishment.

Where was she the past eight years? Was she marching in the streets of New York with the hundreds of thousands of others who protested the Iraq War? Did she speak out against illegal domestic surveillance? Has she written op-eds denouncing the Bush administration's use of torture?

I think what I and many others find somewhat infuriating about this story is that Minnesota has a potentially successful Senate candidate in Al Franken who has literally changed his career in mid-life and busted his ass for 20 months to win that seat. Yet here comes Mrs. Schlossberg, hardly breaking a sweat as she waltzes into the governor's office in Albany, seeking her own elevation to the same political level as Mr. Franken. Quite frankly, I see nothing in Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's resume that merits her appointment to such a prestigious political office.

If Caroline declines to pursue appointment and instead declares her candidacy for the Senate in 2010, I'll be the among the first to donate to her nascent campaign. But she needs to earn this seat through the rigors of a successful election campaign, and not by merely knowing how to enter the Senate chambers through the proverbial back door.

Aloha.

None of the 3 previous holders of that office had been elected before or had any "experience". (Hillary's first held elected office). Seems the constituents of NY like electing newcomers that already have popularity, and influence before taking office.

She campaigned across the country with and for Obama and his highly intelligent, respected, educated in constitutional law, and published several law books. She is a liberal progressive and made it known long before this senate position became available that she was entering politics now that her children were grown. She wanted to raise her family first.

Having a famous last name should not condemn you from politics. It should not be the only reason one gets elected ...or rejected.

Sorry guys but boy George was always fucked and his supporters ignored his character and history. Money and connections got him elected Gov and onward and he always took advantage of his Last name's influence.

Not so with Caroline Kennedy who didn't get involved though she could have, but made the choice of raising her family first. Made sure she was educated and formed positions based on her own insights. To me she is more "qualified" than most elected senators now and I trust her and hope she gets appointed to the senate.

I can't help but think that one day she may even be running for the presidency against Palin. She will be quite the candidate and quite the senator.

BTW...correction. Paragraph 2 should have read "is" highly intelligent, not "his"..."

Also, Caroline already announced that she is running for this senate seat even if not appointed. The Gov. wants a dem to win it when it does come up for election so whoever he appoints he will want them to be able to win the election also and hold the seat. That would also favor Caroline. Time for the right to begin attacking her huh.

Hi shorstop! Long time.

Andy:

But she needs to run for the seat and win it on her own.

Why? A quick survey of the background of current US Senators shows that a very large number of them were members of the House, governors, state AGs, state legislators, or many combinations of the above. A few were all. Other big categories are prosecutors, judges or very successful business people. Several were medical doctors.

To my simple mind, too many type A thinkers there . What is missing is folks with cred from what I will loosely call the humanities. I find Kennedy attractive for that reason.

I am too tired from work to put it better terms but I am weary of the same type of folks doing essentially the same crap. If I were a NYer, I would find it intriguing to have someone (for this two year term) from outside the traditional political conveyer belt.

I find the question "Will you support the Democratic nominee for New York mayor in 2009?" to be really strange and I wouldn't have answered it either.

It's stupid for anyone to rubberstamp an endorsement before the candidate is even announced. One would hope that any Democratic candidate would be a good choice, but what if it was someone like Blago whom she knew to be unworthy of support?

If she'd answered yes to that question and then didn't support the candidate for principled reasons, she'd be hacked to pieces for going back on her word even though it was the right decision.

She neatly evaded a crude and moronic trap, and for that I give her full marks.

I'm not sure if she should get this seat. Yes, she does seem intelligent, graceful, however, I am just tired of seeing every or damn near every family member attaining these positions. Or even husband-wife teams, like Bob Dole & Elizabeth Dole, Bill Clinton-Hillary Clinton.....

Let's not forget, Jeb Bush is planning on running for senate. Jeb Bush son may very well run someday-he's a hottie!!!

Boy George recently appointed Jenna Bush husband to Deputy Chief of Staffs, a step up from being a White House intern!

I still say that Karen Hughes has an uncanny resemblance to Jenna Bush - they can pass for mother-daughter.

joey: "None of the 3 previous holders of that office had been elected before or had any 'experience'."

The operative word here, joey, is "elected," and not "experience." If she wins an election, then Caroline will have attained the necessary experience by virtue of conducting a successful campaign.

However, I can think of any number of accomplished New York Democrats who merit consideration for appointment to that Senate seat before Caroline. Her political lineage and pedigree as a Kennedy simply doesn't cut it. If she wants to start at the top, then let her take her case for such to New York voters at the 2010 polls, rather than enroll her family in this unseemly exercise of political strongarming in Albany.

Oh, so Caroline Kennedy is strongarming Governor David A. Paterson. Really?

A thousand years from now they will be writing books about it.

"... In the latter days of the Republic, the Senate came to be dominated by a few interlocking families. The primary agenda of the Senate eventually deteriorated into squabbling over and fighting for family interests rather than tending to the welfare of the citizenry..."