December 8, 2008
Last week, Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, made waves when she appeared on MSNBC to say she thought her brother Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, would be an excellent choice to be the next United States senator from New York.
Mr. Kennedy, however, quickly took his name out of consideration. But after news that Gov. David A. Paterson and Caroline Kennedy — Ms. Kennedy’s cousin — had spoken about the Senate job, Ms. Kennedy was back on the airwaves today. Same channel, same (almost) message: My cousin Caroline, she said, would make an excellent next United States senator from New York.
“Absolutely,” Ms. Kennedy said, when asked if she was encouraging her cousin to seek the job. “I think Caroline would be just a wonderful public servant. She’s been doing this for many, many years. She’s a lawyer, she’s worked in New York and Washington, at the bar in both those places. She’s a best-selling author. But most of all, she’s a committed public servant.”
Ms. Kennedy also cited her cousin’s work raising money for the New York City public school system and running the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, named for President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy’s father and a brother of the senator.
(Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, down in Washington for a conference on Monday, was also asked about Caroline Kennedy, according to The Associated Press. The mayor praised Ms. Kennedy’s work for the city and said that she “can do anything.” The mayor added: “Caroline Kennedy is a very experienced woman, she’s worked very hard for the city. I can just tell you she’s made an enormous difference in New York City.”)
Kerry Kennedy also confirmed reports that her uncle, Edward M. Kennedy, had lobbied Mr. Paterson on Caroline Kennedy’s behalf.
“Right, you know, I think that Teddy and Caroline are so incredibly close, and I can’t imagine a better team than the two of them in the Senate from Massachusetts and from New York,” Ms. Kennedy said.
Mr. Kennedy made no mention, however, of another prospective Senate pick: her ex-husband, State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo.Shortly before Ms. Kennedy’s appearance, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who is close to Mr. Kennedy, said Caroline Kennedy “would be a great choice” to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is being nominated to be secretary of state.
Ms. Kennedy’s appearance came shortly after a news conference held by Mr. Paterson in Manhattan to discuss failures in New York’s efforts to transport relief supplies to Haiti after a recent hurricane.
Mr. Paterson said he would consider people for the job who had not held elective office, in addition to the large number of New York elected officials who are angling for the job, publicly and privately. (Caroline Kennedy, it should be noted, has never held elected office.)
“Elective office is not the only place that people have distinguished themselves and could serve the public,” the governor said, citing Mr. Bloomberg’s jump from business to politics in 2001, among others.But Mr. Paterson did not say anything about his private discussions with other officials about the appointment.
“First, it’s tell us who the candidates are, tell us what time you’re meeting with them, tell us whether or not you’ve talked to them before,” the governor said. “This is all gossip.”
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