Caroline, We Hardly Knew Ye
Now that Caroline Kennedy is out of the running to be appointed for the senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, it's worth asking a few questions. First, is more just eye-rolling: How could the appointment of four vacant senate seats become such a mess. First, there was the Blagojevich scandal to replace President Obama's seat followed by the mini-scandal over whether to seat Roland Burris. In Delaware, the appointment of Joe Biden's long time top aide was an obvious attempt to keep the seat warm for his son, Beau. And in New York, it's become an unholy mess. Only Bill Ritter in Colorado seemed to have come through this thing unscathed with his appointment of Michael Bennet.
My guess is that if Caroline had remained Greta Garbo, she might have gotten the job. Traditionally, Senate appointments were given to clean, respectable types who got the job in part by not showing any political aspiration to keep it and seemed to take the seat only with reluctance and out of duty. Thus you wound up with Nicholas Brady in New Jersey. Had Kennedy not said anything, I think there's a decent chance she could have gotten the seat. Instead, her mini-candidacy became a nectar for swarms of political consultants, Bloomberg allies, and others who wanted a piece of the action. I don't mean to suggest that she's a victim in all of this. She chose this odd path and has now suffered the biggest defeat of a Kennedy since Kathleen Kennedy Townsend lost her bid to be Maryland's governor. She allowed the handlers in and they made a mess of it. Sometimes, silence is golden.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
And sometimes, people who are smart in certain limited ways reveal their idiocy and incompetence when they try to operate outside their zone.
Caroline's arrogant, entitled and yet politically clueless behavior throughout this episode became the strongest argument against family dynasties in politics since ... well, since George W. Bush.
January 22, 2009 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. I wasn't entirely opposed to her possible appointment until I saw just how clueless she was.
January 22, 2009 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Silence is particularly golden given what we now know to be the alternative as evinced by Ms. Kennedy's interviews.
It's nice to see Bloomberg with a bit of pie on his face. Also, a good cautionary tale for super-rich elites - not that they'll ever get it - success in rarified social networks does not represent a qualification for anything else. I'm sure she's a wonderful fundraiser, but that's not all there is to being a US senator.
January 22, 2009 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Matt Cooper asks, "How could the appointment of four vacant senate seats become such a mess."
But the answer's easy, isn't it? It was signalled in the excellent Times Op-Ed that Tom Geoghegan wrote a few weeks ago: a Senate seat is "A Job Too Big for One Man to Fill" Geoghegan argues (convincingly, to these non-legal ears, but what do I know) that allowing governors to choose Senators is illegal under the 17th amendment. And the reason the drafters of the 17th wanted it illegal is because they knew that the direct appointment of Senators presented a temptation for corruption that most governors would not be able to resist. And this doesn't just mean the obvious corruption of a Blagojevich; it includes the soft corruption that would have enabled a Kennedy appointment: the not-so-subtle pressure from Obama and from business and media elites.
January 22, 2009 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think Kennedy underestimated the politics in this instance. If, during your adult life, everyone is delighted with your involvement in any endeavor, it's understandable that you might expect a similar response when you make it known that you want to be considered for the Senate seat.
She didn't demonstrate much political acumen, and probably wasn't helped by those who should have known better.
January 22, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
So what? You can't prove it either way.
Next!
January 22, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would say campaigning for a job where there is no public election is unseemly, IMO. Likewise the encouragement of such by Governor Paterson. If it were me, I would have told these people to knock it off. I also wouldn't have taken nearly this long to make a decision.
I think I will be supporting Gov. Paterson's primary opponent in 2010. I don't think he really knows what he's doing, particularly when it comes to political stuff.
Tick tock, Gov'nor.
January 22, 2009 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Caroline Kennedy Declares Her Candidacy for Chief Justice
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=5512
January 22, 2009 1:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
She should have laid low.
January 22, 2009 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Heaven forbid a governor should ask a prospective appointee to see if he or she actually has any popular political support. This seat is up for election again in less than two years. It would have been irresponsible of Paterson to appoint someone who intends to run again if he or she wouldn't reach out to voters to see if he or she at least has an even chance in such a blue state in 2010.
And as for dynastic succession it's not like Andrew Cuomo is the guy who made that name famous either.
In Delaware, the appointment of Joe Biden's long time top aide was an obvious attempt to keep the seat warm for his son, Beau.
So what? Beau could have been appointed but instead now he'll have to earn it as a non incumbent running for an open seat.
January 22, 2009 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I could be wrong, but Beau's National Guard call-up is what derailed the idea of appointing him outright.
Then again I also recall Beau saying he wouldn't accept any appointment, but would run for office if interested.
Regarding Caroline, it seems like Uncle Ted isn't too happy with his health being used as an excuse.
I think the best idea is to name a place holder, and allow for an open primary in two years. Burris might run again in Illinois, but it will be treated as a wide open primary, Delaware has been set-up as a place-holder. Paterson should probably do the same at this stage given how he has mucked it up.
January 22, 2009 2:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't Beau still Delaware's AG or SoS? I think he made the right choice by holding off but apparently few offices are off limits for Guard call up.
January 22, 2009 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't disagree with your general point, but this:
No, he didn't, and that's part of the dynastic succession issue, but he's at least been elected to statewide office now. (Yeah, I know--would the voters of NY elected him were his last name Rivers? Can't possibly know)
January 22, 2009 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't get me wrong I think Andrew has done a fine job carving out a political career of his own and the tree he fell from is a pretty good one itself.
That said being from IL I'm leery of family dynasties. Richard M. Daley is a better mayor in my eyes than his dad was much to my surprise but he still has some of the old ways that ought to be disgarded. And the thought of the Madigans having a stranglehold on state government doesn't thrill me.
January 22, 2009 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The fascinating question for me is why Caroline wanted the Senate seat in the first place. Her quest belies the very private person she is, her absence from the gritty NY political arena and her obvious discomfort being center stage. Did she truly want the seat? Was she pushed by family members? By Teddy? Was it to block (former cousin-by-marriage) Cuomo's ascendance? Was it a midlife epiphany? Curious to hear theories...
January 22, 2009 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
You forget that maybe she just isn't a very nice person. A lot of the other commenters get it. Is she spoiled? Yesss. Is she rude and arrogant when reporters dare to ask her basic questions? Yesss.
I wouldn't care if some dynastic heir got a political appointment just for being born to wealth and privilege, just as long as that person didn't make it clear that he considered it his due, and the rest of us just so much trash.
January 22, 2009 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wait a minute, just because she was at odds with NYT reporters doesn't mean she considers the rest of us trash. There's a few NYT reporters I consider trash.
January 22, 2009 4:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
She should now be known as Caroline Favre.
January 22, 2009 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink