Caroline to the Senate

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 15, 2009
All Rights Reserved.                    

        With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) sailing through her confirmation hearing Jan. 13, speculation grows on whom New York Gov. Patterson will pick to fill her seat.  While a recent New York poll indicates that New Yorkers favor Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo over Caroline Kennedy by around 11%, Patterson faces massive pressure to pick Caroline.  When Hillary announced she’d accept President-elect Barack Obama’s offer for Secretary of State Nov. 22, it was ironically 45 years since the death of President John F. Kennedy—the father of Caroline Kennedy.  Since her father’s death, the country has looked for some way to repay the Kennedys.  Her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan June 6, 1968 in Los Angeles, occupied the New York senate seat briefly from Jan. 3, 1965 until his death.  Caroline’s uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), currently battles brain cancer.

            While President-elect Obama has remained somewhat neutral, he’s signaled his close personal relationship to Caroline, who served closely with Atty. Gen. nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. to vet Cabinet picks.  It was Caroline, after all, who went out on a limb endorsing then Sen. Obama Jan. 28, 2008, only days before SuperTuesday, where some 20 sates voted in a mega-primary.  Caroline brought with her Uncle Teddy, landing a serious blow to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.  It’s even more ironic that Caroline of all people stands to take over Hillary’s senate seat, after delivering a damaging blow to her presidential ambitions.  Patterson remains button-lipped but all signs point toward Caroline.  Caroline has already won the endorsements of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Sen. Barabara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

            Since announcing her interest in Hillary’s seat Dec. 5, Caroline granted some uninspiring interviews, prompting criticism of her speaking style and readiness for the office.  She was criticized for using too many “you knows,” a colloquial speech pattern found in teen gibberish, not regarded as mature or sophisticated.  When witnessing Hillary recently, during her confirmation hearing, New Yorkers were treated to one of the most brilliant, articulate, well-informed politicians of our time.  Recent interviews with Caroline hurt her public perception as measured by recent opinion polls, favoring Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo.  Questions arise about whom, among Patterson’s most likely picks, will have more Washington clout, a key consideration for New Yorkers faced with rising unemployment and record deficits.  Caroline’s father set the standard for charismatic communication.

                 Legitimate questions arise about whether or not Caroline, a graduate of Columbia University Law School, author and philanthropist, is ready for the U.S. Senate or national politics.  “Frankly, when it comes to getting things done for one’s state, it’s more a matter of hard work than connections,” said Brookings Institution congressional scholar Thomas Mann, questioning whether or not Caroline’s family connections compensate for her lack of political savvy.  Patterson must weigh out carefully the best candidate not to advance his political career but to serve the needs of New Yorkers.  If he picks Caroline, he may wind up facing Cuomo next year when he runs for reelection.  No one expected Patterson, the former Lt.. Gov., to run for governor anytime soon, especially serving under the charismatic Eliot Spitzer, before a prostitution scandal took him down March 12, 2008.

             Caroline threw her hat in the ring that cold day Jan. 27 when she published her flattering op-ed in the New York Times comparing Barack to her father.  Little did she know that the first viable African American candidate would defeat her U.S. senator and former First Lady.  Barack rode the harmonic convergence of Bush’s failures to the presidency, defeating battle tested war hero Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by sizable 7% margin Nov. 4.  Barack’s campaign pulled the otherwise introverted Caroline out of her lifelong shell giving her up-close taste of growing excitement, only dreamed about by stories of her once inspirational father.  She had neither heard nor experienced the soaring rhetoric that once inspired an entire nation to hold their breath while her father took the microphone.  Barack rekindled that everlasting flame, prompting Caroline to ask Patterson for Hillary’s vacant seat. 

           Regardless of all the pros and cons for Caroline and Cuomo, Patterson will pick Caroline, handing New Yorkers the instant celebrity of a Kennedy in Hillary’s vacated seat.  Whether she grows into the office or is in anyway effective is anyone’s guess.  Celebrity and family connections count for a lot in politics, regardless of her lack of experience or rhetorical skills.  She’s no JFK but, on the other hand, carries with her New York and the country’s eternal gratitude for her father’s tragic sacrifice.  Whatever time her uncle Teddy has left can only shepherd Caroline along to learning the ropes more quickly in the U.S. Senate.  “The more the media interest in her, the more other senators will want to co-sponsor bills with her, sign on to initiatives with her so that they get attention to heir policy preferences,” said Gerogetown government Professor Michele Swers, making Patterson’s choice easy.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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