Though I didn't think Caroline Kennedy should be appointed to the New York senate seat before, her "campaign" should disqualify her even further. Whether the fault lies with Kennedy or her advisors, she has displayed a tin political ear in an environment that should make any pol worth their salt hyper-sensitive to concerns about ill-gained appointments, nepotism and, yes, Sarah Palin, avoiding questions from the media. This article points to all that in spades. Consider:
[New York Governor David Paterson] is frustrated and chagrined, the advisers said, because he believes that he extended Ms. Kennedy the chance to demonstrate her qualifications but that her operatives have exploited the opportunity to convey a sense that she is all but appointed already. He views this as an attempt to box him in, the advisers said.
Meanwhile, Kennedy's attempts to demonstrate her qualifications have consisted of a call to the governor to let him know her interest, a number of private meetings with officials across the state and an apparent inability to answer even written questions convincingly. Verbal questions from reporters usually result in her spokesperson issuing a correcting statement.
It's not clear that campaining for an appointment is a bad thing, since it gives the public some information and a chance to weigh in (at least through opinion polling), which is more than they get if Paterson only considers his own political interests before picking someone for the post. But no one knows quite why Kennedy is running, or rather, what her motivations are. If she's going to campaign for the appointment, she should have answer to the first question any pol gets asked: why do they want to be in this office? Without a good answer, she's already in trouble.
For example: "President Obama needs an ally in the Senate to help push his policies through." "New Yorkers need someone to fight for their public infrastructure in Washington." "More Kennedys in office is simply a public good." "I'd like to spend more time with elderly white dudes." Whatever. But at least give the public -- and Paterson -- a reason.
-- Tim Fernholz
