CAROLINE (CONT'D)

Posted at 7:35 a.m. ET

The most intriguing political story going right now, other than the president-elect's attempts to dig himself out of Illinois politics, is the possible appointment of Caroline Kennedy to the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Hillary Clinton.  (By the way, Kennedy is generally known here in New York as Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg.  But Schlossberg, like Obama's middle name, Hussein, has disappeared from press coverage and is apparently gone with the wind.  Name change we can't believe in.)

Our reading of press coverage is that reaction to a possible Kennedy appointment is generally muted.  If there is a public "wanting" of Caroline, it has yet to materialize.  But ridicule and outright rejection are also spotty.

One reason for the quiet reception may well be that Ms. Kennedy's father, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated 45 years go.  Most Americans alive today don't even remember him.  While the Kennedy name still has magic in many political circles, voters are less than overwhelmed.  Ted Kennedy tried to run for president 28 years ago and failed.  Other Kennedys have been elected to public office since then, but others have been defeated. 

This story is important.  If Caroline Kennedy goes to the Senate, the presidential buzz will begin.  As noted here yesterday, she'll be only 59 in 2016.

We rarely quote New York Times editorials, but the Times today has a reasonable take on the subject:

Ms. Kennedy has much going for her. As a public figure, she carries the glamour and poignancy of her family, the only living child of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an uncle of hers, has reigned for years as the liberal clarion in the Senate. Another uncle, the late Bobby Kennedy, was a charismatic senator who represented New York 40 years ago.

But there are interesting questions for Mr. Paterson to resolve about this job applicant and her qualifications.

As someone who has guarded her privacy, is she ready for the heat and the criticisms that are about to bear down on her? How would Ms. Kennedy fare in dealing more publicly with the crowds and the media scrum? Would she really be able to open up? Her appearances are always gracious, but her interviews in recent years have been long on charm and short on information.

Hmm.  The Times points out that Ms. Kennedy has shown sharp political skills in her work on behalf of the Obama campaign.  At the same time, the paper wonders whether she has the larger skills needed to help the New York delegation effectively represent the state.

Finally, will she, as Mrs. Clinton did, do the hard political work to show she would represent New Yorkers who live outside Manhattan’s best ZIP codes? When one New York City congressman was asked recently whether he was interested in the Senate seat, he sniffed: “I don’t do Utica.” To get the job and keep it through elections in 2010 and again in 2012, Ms. Kennedy would have to do Utica. And Buffalo. And Schenectady.

The Times recommends, and we concur, that Governor Paterson take his time.

December 17, 2008.