Caroline Kennedy has now announced that she is interested in Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. Liberal commentators and voters have not spoken on the matter, but I hope that they are against it.
Caroline Kennedy's qualifications for the job are -- what exactly? They are mainly one-- her last name. She has the silver spoon in her mouth. And what better way for such a person to become a Senator -- not by hard work and winning a competitive election, but by being appointed.
Liberals should be outraged that this person, who is the closest thing to an American hereditary aristrocrat, wants to become a Senator on the quick. It is against everything they are supposed to believe in.
Compare Kennedy to Sarah Palin, who was an ordinary person and worked her way up the political system. Even if one believes that John McCain made a mistake by putting her on the ticket too soon, she certainly had an impressive political career before that. But somehow I don't believe that Kennedy will get the Palin treatment.
Caroline Kennedy's qualifications for the job are simply that she's a Kennedy. And with Liberal Lion Teddy Kennedy soon to shuffle off the Senate will be down a Kennedy so she's making herself available for when that day comes. The US Senate is is quickly becoming the turf of the rich, I hear that in some states seats are even for sale to the highest bidder. Let's just rename the US Senate to the US House of Lords and be done with it.
Posted by: Don Qua | December 16, 2008 at 07:54 PM
Sarah Palin is an idiot, Caroline Kennedy is not....THERE I have compared the two.
Posted by: Deo | December 17, 2008 at 01:19 AM
IF there WAS a way to sell the seats to highest bidder Palin would be ALL OVER that!
What a huckster!
Posted by: Deo | December 17, 2008 at 01:21 AM
Well, count me against it. I know very little about Kennedy (Only what's been in a few NY Times articles that I've skimmed.) I certainly don't know that she lacks the skills to be a good or even just a decent Senator. (I also, obviously, have no idea if she has those skills, either.) I'd hope that, before taking her seriously, Governor Patterson would try to find out if she has such skills. But, even if she does I think it's a terrible idea since it's obvious that if it were not for her name she'd not be considered at all, even in the slightest. Now, unfortunately, because of the way fund raising works in US elections a famous name is an important asset for a politician. So, I can understand the temptation. But I certainly hope that it's one that will be avoided.
Posted by: Matt | December 17, 2008 at 04:40 AM
Maybe you can ask Charles Fried and Mark Tushnet about the difference between Palin and Kennedy at the AALS convention. In my experience, law professors are the worst of social snobs--they love hobnobbing with rich liberals, and get the creeps when forced into contact with working class people.
Deo, any evidence for your statement on Kennedy's intelligence? Getting into Harvard when your name is Kennedy doesn't require much more than the ability to sign your name, and having some books ghostwritten requires even less.
Posted by: y81 | December 18, 2008 at 07:51 AM
I'm no fan of the Kennedys, but there is a difference between Senator from NY and potential Vice-President (especially when the potential President was pretty old).
Posted by: Potted Plant | December 20, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Deo has of course CONTRASTED the two.
I concur with Potted Plant that Caroline Kennedy is better suited for a less significant job than that sought By Governor Palin.
Posted by: enemyofthepeople | December 21, 2008 at 11:43 PM