BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Speculation surrounds Kennedy’s possible run
Fame is a winning quality in this celebrity-crazed state, but does Camelot scion have the experience to go with it?
ALBANY — Camelot or pothole senator?
That may be the choice in the coming weeks for Gov. David A. Paterson when he selects a successor to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; as he considers tapping the politically unproven Caroline Kennedy or one of a hodgepodge of officeholders who have worked their way up from the depths of government jobs.
New York’s long fascination with political celebrities, especially for the U.S. senator job, has been in full flower since Kennedy’s name surfaced. Indeed, voter polls show her already ahead of or tied with State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to replace Clinton — despite the fact she has never held an elected office and still has not made a definitive statement that she even wants the job.
But questions already are coming — from within her own party — about her lack of experience and whether she has the temperament to campaign in the rollicking world of New York politics. The Kennedy family may fast be discovering that the New York Democratic Party is far more challenging to dominate than that of Massachusetts.
A broader question also has emerged. Given New York’s precarious condition — its sour economy, its deficit-ridden budget, its declining upstate population — can the state afford to put someone who has no proof of having political and government agility into the powerful club of 100 at the U. S. Capitol?
“What the state could use is a pothole type of senator,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic Party consultant.
“There’s already one,” Richard Donohue, a longtime Kennedy family friend, said referring to New York’s senior senator, Charles E. Schumer.
New York has been down the route of political stardom before, starting in 1964 when Robert Kennedy won a Senate seat just a year after his brother, President John F. Kennedy, Caroline’s father, was assassinated. He beat aside charges of carpetbagging just as another political celebrity — Hillary Clinton — did during her 2000 victory.
“This is a state that loves to have a celebrity senator,” said one Democratic Party activist.
But New York has severe financial problems, its infrastructure is crumbling, it gets back far less from Washington than it sends in tax revenues, and it stands to lose two more congressional representatives after the 2010 census. And Kennedy, some Democrats say, is known as the shy and quiet type, not an aggressor who might rattle Washington on New York’s behalf.
Not a ‘marshmallow’
Her supporters say her credentials are strong. “I’ve watched her work very closely. She is extraordinarily intelligent, very, very detailed and has a very good grasp of what’s going on. She’s very opinionated. She’s not a marshmallow,” said Donohue, a Boston-area lawyer who was an assistant to JFK and is vice chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston, a panel on which Caroline Kennedy serves as president.
“This is someone who enjoys national, if not international, prestige. That’s consistent with the legacy of New York senators that New York has been fortunate to have had,” said Paul G. Kirk Jr., the former Democratic National Party chairman who chairs the Kennedy library foundation. He said Kennedy would bring “a certain stature and respect to the office, and prestige to New York state.”
“And she is someone who enjoys a solid and sound friendship with the president-and vice president-elect, which could only be an asset,” Kirk added.
Her polling numbers show that the Kennedy mystique thrives.
“For anybody who was alive when her father was alive, she represents the core of him. She obviously brings back all the memories of him, and it’s extraordinary, of course, but people can recall key moments in his life and death, and she’s identified with it, even though she was just a child,” Donohue said.
One of the raps against Kennedy is that she might not be up to the rigors of a New York campaign — whether greeting subway riders in Flatbush or helping muck the stalls at a Genesee County dairy farm.
Personal issues at stake
The seat will be filled by Paterson’s appointee for two years; in 2010, voters will decide who will hold the seat.
“The last campaign destroyed any notion that she was too shy,” Donohue said of Kennedy’s stumping for President-elect Barack Obama. And Kennedy backers say her ability to tap into the Kennedy fundraising machine helps her cause.
There are, of course, personal issues at stake. Some Clinton supporters say the wounds are still fresh following Kennedy’s decision earlier this year to come out at a crucial time in the primaries to support Obama. Backing Kennedy would be akin to slapping Clinton in the face, they believe.
The Cuomo factor
Then there are the Kennedy-Cuomo issues, and whether some members of the Kennedy family might take delight in Cuomo not getting the job. Kennedy’s cousin, Kerry Kennedy, went through a bitter divorce from Cuomo several years ago. The evidence remains: Earlier this year, when Kerry Kennedy and family members came to Albany to hear news of a bridge being named in honor of Robert Kennedy, the family stayed seated and conspicuously did not join in the applause given Cuomo when he entered the Assembly chamber.
Asked last week if Kennedy is qualified for the job, Cuomo would only say, “I’ve known Caroline for years. I have a high opinion of her, but that’s going to be up to the governor.”
The longer the process takes — Paterson has said he won’t fill the seat until after Clinton is confirmed as U. S. secretary of state — the more grumbling there is likely to be from some Democrats. Kennedy has no deep New York party ties. And some Democrats are upset that a Kennedy might be able to cut ahead of others already on line who have done their party and government work.
The most vocal put-down in recent days came from Queens U. S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Clinton loyalist, who said in a radio interview, “I don’t know what Caroline Kennedy’s qualifications are, except that she has name recognition, but so does J. Lo . . . I wouldn’t make J. Lo the senator unless she proved she had great qualifications, but we haven’t seen them yet.”
“She hasn’t paid her dues in the party, so I expect there’s a lot of resentment there,” said Robert Shapiro, a Columbia University political scientist.
Kennedy has declined to comment.
Kirk said Kennedy’s Democratic critics may “have their own agenda” separate from the potential candidate. And he noted the “more significant barometer” will be polls showing her backed by New York voters.
Republicans have joined in, too. “It’s a great name. However, we’re at a time in our country’s history where we need people who are going to do something for the average folks. And as far as I’m concerned — I’m casting no aspersions — but I don’t know what Caroline Kennedy has done,” said Joseph Mondello, chairman of the state GOP.
“There’s no excitement in upstate New York over Caroline Kennedy — Why would she do anything for upstate?” said Sen. Dale M. Volker, RDepew. He said voters should be “insulted” that she is being considered just for her family name.
Kennedy, 51, who lives on Park Avenue with her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, is a lawyer and author. She has raised millions for the New York City public school system and sits on various boards. She helped run Obama’s efforts to select a vice president.
Shapiro, the Columbia professor, said the lack of experience argument is misplayed, and often doesn’t work, citing Obama’s ability to win to counter such GOP claims. “I think experience is overblown in terms of competence and expertise. It’s character and judgment that is important, and not past experience,” said Shapiro.
A major change
Shapiro said Kennedy must be wrestling with whether she can go from a behind-the-scenes player to such a visible post in a high-profile state like New York. “This would be a major change for her,” he said.
But Kirk, a Kennedy family friend, said the Kennedys know as well as any the rigors of politics. “If she makes up her mind that this is what she wants to do, she will go into it with the full understanding of the combat zone of New York politics,” he said.
Does she want this? “I would only hazard to guess that if this story hasn’t been squelched by her [yet] she must be giving it serious, serious consideration. The governor has a great opportunity here,” Kirk said.
Friends say Kennedy’s work with Obama may have given her the appetite to consider the Senate opening. Her three children — ages 15, 18 and 20 — have been well protected from the public eye by their mother, they say.
Said Donovan, “Obviously, now she’s ready to take another step.”
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