Put me in the camp...

...that doesn't want to see Caroline Kennedy get appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. She seems like a nice person, and everyone says she's intelligent and has done a lot of good work in New York, but it just seems a little too much like she's being rewarded for being a Kennedy. I know she was the president's daughter, and she came out for Obama at a crucial time, and her Uncle Ted is dying and everyone seems to want to keep a Kennedy in the Senate, and there's also the Andrew Cuomo drama, but it just doesn't seem right to me. Better to appoint some elder statesman, like Ed Koch or Felix Rohatyn, with the understanding that he'll only serve until the special election in 2010. Then if Caroline wants to run then, God bless her. Let her run and win an election, like everyone else. This would also give New Yorkers the benefit of finding out where she stands on the great issues of the day: the economic meltdown, the auto bailout, the two wars we're engaged in, etc. The voters have a right to know who Caroline Kennedy really is. I think that was the primary objection to Sarah Palin in the last election. It wasn't so much that she was inexperienced as that she was unknown. Voters want their candidates publicly vetted.

By the way, when she was asked outside Sylvia's Restaurant why she wanted to be the Senator from New York, was I the only person who was reminded of the famous Ted Kennedy interview with Roger Mudd when he couldn't articulate why he wanted to be President?

But everything I hear and read points to her getting the job. People say Governor Paterson is still undecided, but getting steamrolled and will almost certainly appoint her. Apparently her main qualification for the job is her ability to raise money. The talking heads say only she could raise the $70 million or so it takes to run in 2010 and 2012. That and Paterson would benefit from having a Kennedy alongside his name on the ballot.

So I'll bet she gets the job, although I'm reading a lot of columns like what I just wrote. But I don't think she'll like it and won't last too long. She's been such a private, normal person for so long that I don't think she's got the stomach for it. If she did, she would have shown an interest in public life a long time ago. There's also the matter of spending so much time in Washington and doing the actual work of a senator. I just don't see it.

So stay tuned. Governor Paterson has said he's going to wait until Hillary is actually confirmed as Secretary of State before he acts. A lot can happen between now and then.