Who doesn't want to be a Senator? What a great job -- as long as you don't have to campaign for it.
Having to campaign for the gig is a deal breaker, right? Embarrassing financial disclosures. Crazy ex-lovers coming out of the woodwork. The blogosphere lined up in full "gotcha" mode.
Nope, Caroline Kennedy has a clue. This is how you do it -- just ask for the empty seat, whether you're qualified or not.
Lots of New Yorkers are throwing their hats into the ring, but everyone's talking about Kennedy. Did you read her interview in the New York Times on Sunday? Here's what she said about the U.S. economic crisis:
"This is not about the past, this is really about the future and the moment that we're in, and I think that everybody right now has an obligation to think about what they can do to help. This is, you know -- nobody can sit out this one anymore."
Yikes, she's certainly no Daniel Patrick Moynihan. But then, who is? Besides, the real reason her interview is riddled with "you knows" is because she mocked the two Times reporters halfway through the interview:
"Have you guys ever thought about writing for, like, a woman's magazine or something?" asked Kennedy. "I thought you were the crack political team here."
Rookie mistake, Caroline! You gotta play nice in the media sandbox. Good manners are important. Note that no one ever says "you know" in Deborah Solomon's weekly interviews in the Times Sunday Magazine. No one ever says "you know" in my interviews for HuffPost. We edit that garbage out. I'm sure Kennedy won't make that mistake twice. After all, she went to Harvard.
Curiously, Kennedy's Ivy League education has little to do with why she may nab a Senate seat. Consider this reader exchange on Huffington Post:
YellaDog2: She has led a sheltered life. She needs to understand BEFORE she is gifted a Senate seat that politics is a tough business. Obama made it look easy. That may have given her the false impression that it IS easy. At the moment, she does not appear to be equal to the task.
Kevingiampa: Caroline Kennedy doesn't need to be given any further lessons about how tough a business politics can be. You're embarrassing yourself.
There it is, folks, the elephant in the room. We Americans are a kind-hearted people, and we have always felt deeply sorry for her loss. Couldn't we make it up to Kennedy by gifting her a Senate seat? Wouldn't that be nice?
Never mind that she's made it perfectly clear over the years that she really isn't into politics. Never mind that there are hundreds of New Yorkers with more experience. If Prince Charles is entitled to be King, then by golly Caroline Kennedy is entitled to be Senator.
Or is she?