Maureen Dowd: Bill Clinton Lobbied Gov. Paterson To Keep Caroline Kennedy Out Of Senate

Maureen Dowd's New York Times column this week details the fall of outgoing White House council Greg Craig, and drops an interesting tidbit concerning Caroline Kennedy's senate bid along the way. According to Dowd, a "vengeful" Bill Clinton was aggressively lobbying Paterson to keep Kennedy out of the Senate.

Dowd argues that Obama's handling of Craig's departure -- the "death by a thousand leaks" -- was reminiscent of Obama's "failure" to help Kennedy:

It recalled Obama's failure to lift a finger to help Caroline Kennedy -- after she had lifted him at a crucial moment -- when the loopy Gov. David Paterson was dragging her through mud and refusing to announce a decision on the appointment for the New York Senate seat. Paterson was being lobbied by a vengeful Bill Clinton. Bill was still upset at Caroline for bestowing the Camelot mantle, which he had tried to claim during his campaigns, on Obama. Yet no one from the Obama camp tried to counteract Bill and straighten out Paterson.

Read the whole column here.