CAROLINE WHO?

Posted at 9:04 a.m. ET

The most fascinating political story, rivaled only by the pain and suffering of the Illinois governor, is the attempt by Caroline Kennedy to be appointed to the U.S. Senate, succeeding Hillary Clinton, whom Caroline softly knifed in the Dem primaries.  Even in New York, this is considered a mite nervy.

Today The New York Times reports on one hurdle Caroline has to overcome - Caroline who?

Say the name Caroline Kennedy to Jensie Farrar, and she turns almost maternally protective. Ms. Farrar was married in Albany on Nov. 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the passage of 45 years has done little to dull her shock or to alter her image of the president’s only girl.

Say “Caroline Kennedy” to Bess Goden, 23, and she pauses, working quietly to exactly place it.

“I’m like, ‘Is she a Kennedy Kennedy, or is this one of the cousins?’"

It's hard to think of this daughter of an American president having name-recognition problems, but it's happening.  The passage of time has had its impact, and a Kennedy hasn't held high political office in New York since Robert F. Kennedy's assassination four decades ago.

Interviews with about 50 New Yorkers — people from upstate and across town, people of all ages and races and political persuasions — suggest that the Kennedy brand is rich with resonance. But it also provokes resentment and puzzlement, especially among younger voters, who are suspicious of dynastic politics as the Bush era ends, and are uncertain of where in the famous family tree she falls.

This is not terribly surprising.  The professional politicians pushing the Caroline candidacy know the details of Camelot.  Ordinary voters don't.  A 20-year-old college student was born in 1988, 25 years after JFK's death.  That student's parents may well have been toddlers, or not even born, at the time of the assassination. 

“I don’t know who her father is, but if you told me, I bet I would know,” said Michelle Kuhns, 21, a senior at St. John’s University in Queens who was working during her holiday break at a bagel shop on Long Island. “I’ve heard the name, yes. But that’s it.”

And...

Skeptics questioned whether Ms. Kennedy knows about places like Buffalo, Utica, or Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, and the pressures on working people in hard times. “What I want is someone who is going to cut spending and cut taxes,” said Jim Nowicki, 47, an insurance company employee in Buffalo, “someone who can bring business back here.”

But by far the largest gap between those stirred by the Kennedy mystique and those unmoved is time.

And there are other factors:

Many residents interviewed last week, as Ms. Kennedy began a series of meetings with political leaders around the state, spoke of her apparent reserve: Ms. Kennedy’s endorsement of Barack Obama for president in January marked her first venture into electoral politics. Her phone call this month to Gov. David A. Paterson, who will make the Senate appointment, was her second.

Yeah.  When they start making comparisons with Sarah Palin, Caroline comes out second.

But there's political reality:

The public sentiments are unlikely to have any immediate weight on Ms. Kennedy’s candidacy because voters have no say in whether she gets the seat. Mr. Paterson will appoint a candidate of his choosing. About a dozen candidates have been mentioned, including Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, who represents parts of Manhattan and Queens, and the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo. The seat will be in play in the 2010 election and again in 2012.

An appointment lasts two years.  In 2010 she'd have to run to fill out the rest of Clinton's term.  In 2012 she could run for the full term.

Fascinating story.  In the background, of course, is Hillary Clinton, who could not be pleased about someone who opposed her for president taking her place in the Senate.  We watch for some Clinton move, behind the scenes, to send Caroline back home.

December 21, 2008.