Karen Tumulty has a nice timeline of the bizarre events leading to Caroline Kennedy decision to withdraw from the Senate appointment race. Hard to say what's really going on here, but I'm pleased with the outcome. Appointing Kennedy was uncomfortably dynastic, related neither to the will of the people nor the obvious merit of the candidate. And she did herself no favors during the pseudo-campaign. Indeed, there's a sense in which the outcome, though rough for Kennedy, is sort of neatly symbolic: In one year, we have seen the likely ends of the Bush, Clinton, and Kennedy dynasties. That is not to say members of those families will not serve in the future. But the electorate has shown, resoundingly, that they must win office, they cannot simply expect it.
