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| Dems announce earmark reforms | |
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| Behind the Cell Curve | |
| Obama's Gamble |
| Rudy Giuliani on Blagojevich, Kennedy | |
| Geraldine Ferraro on Caroline Kennedy | |
| Cinderella vs. the Barracuda | |
| Roundtable on Caroline Kennedy and the Senate | |
| Huckabee on the Chambliss Senate Victory |
January 06, 2009
Kennedy is Interesting,You Know?
By Jack KellyBetter to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg doubtless wishes she had heeded this admonition.
Though Caroline Kennedy has never held, or sought public office -- or even bothered to vote in many elections -- most in the news media were thrilled at the prospect of having the daughter of President John F. Kennedy in the senate.
Her Ivy League education and her experiences as a mother of three children qualify her for the job, her many admirers said.
"I'd vote for her in a second," gushed Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan Dec. 16. "She, as a beloved historic celebrity, could bring needed media attention to issues routinely ignored."
Shortly after Ms. Kennedy indicated she would like to be appointed to the senate seat Hillary Clinton is vacating to become secretary of state, she visited Democratic politicians in upstate New York to discuss her ambition.
Ms. Kennedy received a polite, but tepid, reception from the mayors of Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.
Reporters covering her "listening tour," however, were unhappy with her apparent unwillingness to talk with them.
"So far, her first foray into politics has been one of private meetings, brief appearances, and unanswered questions about what she would do, say and think if chosen as New York's next senator," wrote AP reporters Ben Dobbin and Devlin Barrett from Rochester Dec. 20. "Kennedy stumbled in her first public appearance Wednesday in Syracuse. She met privately for an hour with local politicians, then spoke to reporters for all of 30 seconds before being hustled away by an aide."
Apparently stung by this criticism, Ms. Kennedy granted lengthy interviews to the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and the cable news channel New York 1.
She shouldn't have.
Ms. Kennedy said little of substance in those interviews. But what made them noteworthy was her inability to express herself coherently. She said "you know" more than 200 times in her interview with the Daily News, 130 times in her interview with the Times, and 80 times in her interview with New York 1. Her remarks were also generously punctuated with "ums" and "ahs."
"She's turned out to be a no-pulse flat-liner with the vim, vigor, enthusiasm and passion of, um, you know, a wet noodle," a chagrined and apologetic Ms. Eagan wrote Jan. 1. "Who'd have dreamt (Jackie Kennedy's) daughter -- raised in the White House, in Greece and on Park Avenue, a graduate of hoity-toity Concord Academy and hoiter-toitier Radcliffe, for God's sake -- sounds, you know, like, um, whatever, as if some Valley Girl."
Some liberals have likened Ms. Kennedy to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, which is unfair to Ms. Palin, who -- in addition to having voted in every election since she was 18, has actually held public office, and performed well in it. Ms. Palin has mothered more children than has Ms. Kennedy, and done so without full time hired help. And she can give a speech without inserting "um" and "you know" in every sentence.
Despite her recent stumbles, Ms. Kennedy still has many fans.
"I think (New York Gov.) David Paterson would be dumb not to appoint Kennedy," wrote Alan Chartock, president of Northeast Public Radio, in the Berkshire Eagle Jan. 3rd. "She is fabulously wealthy. Some guesstimates have her in the $500 million range. She owns a considerable chunk of Martha's Vineyard beach front, and she is one of the most popular New Yorkers.
There are lighter weights already serving in Congress, Mr. Chartock asserts. And "do you really think she wouldn't hire the best staff that money can buy?"
I find Mr. Chartock's reasoning hilarious. But Gov. Paterson may find it persuasive. He's said to be leaning toward choosing Ms. Kennedy, chiefly because of the assistance she could provide him in raising money for his governor's race next year.
I hope Gov. Paterson does appoint Ms. Kennedy. I am, um, you know, looking forward to her speeches and press conferences.
