[Rhodes22-list] Political- Caroline To Seek NY Senatorial Seat

[Bill Effros]

Ben,

I've been going over your "lack of experience" comments regarding the 
Governor of Alaska. 

I imagine what you meant was that she lacked connections, not experience.

Bill (No Class) Effros
S/V "Passing Wind"



Ben Cittadino wrote:
> December 16, 2008    New York Times
> Caroline Kennedy to Seek Clinton’s Senate Seat 
> By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
> Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of an American political dynasty, has decided
> to pursue the United States Senate seat being vacated by Senator Hillary
> Rodham Clinton of New York.The decision came after a series of deeply
> personal and political conversations, in which Ms. Kennedy, whom friends
> describe as unflashy but determined, wrestled with whether to give up what
> has been a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight. 
>
> Kennedy made calls on Monday morning to alert political figures to her
> interest.
>
> Gov. David A. Paterson of New York confirmed that she was interested in
> being appointed. 
>
> “She told me she was interested in the position,” Mr. Paterson said at a
> news conference. “She realized it wasnot a campaign, but she was talking to
> other people because shethought that a number of people, she felt, should
> know that she’sinterested in the position. She’d like at some point to sit
> down andtell me what she thinks her qualifications are.”
>
> Senator Charles Schumer said that he had also spoken to Ms. Kennedy and that
> said she was “clearly interested.” “Bottom line isthat the Governor and I
> talk regularly on this,” he said in a television interview, “but we have
> decided to keepeach other’s counsel, so that is all I am going to say right
> now.”
>
> If appointed, Ms. Kennedy would fill the seat once held by her uncle, Robert
> F. Kennedy.
>
> Ms. Kennedy’s decision is likely to have a major impact on the governor’s
> considerations as he mulls who should succeed Mrs. Clinton. Already, some
> other Democrats have pointedly questioned her credentials for the job.
> United States Representative Gary Ackerman, a Queens Democrat, said last
> week that he did not know what Ms. Kennedy’s qualifications were, “except
> that she has name recognition — but so does J. Lo.”
>
> Others, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have praised her abilities.
>
> Ms. Kennedy first telephoned the governor on Dec. 3 to inquire about the
> job, but Mr. Paterson described that conversation as “informational” and
> said it was clear that Ms. Kennedy had not decided whether she wanted to
> pursue the position.
>
> But since then, she has begun reaching out to key political figures in New
> York, including Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the State Assembly, and
> Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller. She has also hired Knickerbocker
> SKD, a prominent political consulting firm headed by Josh Isay, a former
> chief of staff to Senator Charles E. Schumer, to advise her.
>
> Ms. Kennedy’s family members, especially her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
> have urged her to seek the post.
>
> Mrs. Clinton has said that she would not vacate the Senate seat until she
> was confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state, which is
> expected to occur in January or February, and the governor has said that he
> would wait until then to make the appointment. But he has also said that he
> might make his selection known before then, to allow whomever is chosen to
> prepare for the new role.
>
> Ms. Kennedy, 51, a resident of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, took an
> unusually public role in Mr. Obama’s campaign, and the two became friends.
> Mr. Obama appointed Ms. Kennedy to the panel that vetted potential
> vice-presidential candidates for him. 
>
> Before that, Ms. Kennedy had devoted much of her time to charitable works
> and institutions linked to her family, like the John F. Kennedy Library
> Foundation, of which she is president.
>
> Others likely to be considered for the Senate seat are members of Congress
> including Kirsten Gillibrand, a rising star in the Democratic party who
> represents an upstate district; Thomas R. Suozzi, the Nassau County chief
> executive and a former candidate for governor; and the New York State
> attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.
>
>
> I think this is just an outstanding idea. Brad? Others?
>
> Ben C.
>
>