Caroline Kennedy Hits Harlem

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Source: Washington Post

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 - Yesterday it was a three-city tour of upstate New York to meet with mayors and local party activists. Today, it was a trek to Harlem, for soul food - fried chicken, collard greens and cornbread - with the Rev. Al Sharpton. With those carefully measured steps, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the former president and scion of the most fabled American dynasty, continued her slow and deliberate entry into the rough and tumble of New York politics, touching base with all the state's key constituencies.

She also today opened up more to the press, which gave Kennedy's initial rollout a typically bare-knuckled New York welcome. After trying to avoid reporters in her first stop yesterday in Syracuse, this afternoon she stood outside in the Harlem chill to answer questions and expound more on why she decided to end her relatively private Upper East Side life to compete for Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant senate seat.

"I come at this as a mother, as a lawyer, as an author, as an education advocate, and, you know, from a family that has really spent generations in public service," Kennedy said, in some of her most expansive comments to date. "And I feel this commitment. This is a time when no one can afford to sit out." Asked where she placed herself ideologically, if she would follow the policies of Hillary Clinton, Kennedy said, "I feel like I'm a Kennedy Democrat. A Clinton Democrat. Chuck Schumer. Barack Obama. These are all leaders whose values I share."

"I'd love to take the skills and relationships I have to Washington," Kennedy said. "I have, you know, quite a lot to learn, but I feel like I bring a lot with me, as well." Kennedy seems to be winning some converts.

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/18/caroline_kennedy_hits_harlem.html

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Sounds like she's getting the hang of it. . .

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. I watched her upstate on local NYC tv news.

The more one sees of her... the less one thinks this is a good idea. She is, to be charitable, not in her element. She lacks, to be even more charitable, the 'common touch'.


Andrew Cuomo gives me the heebee-geebees. But what about his *dad*? No one speaks better and very few are as bright. Perhaps he can 'hold' the seat for two years and the younger DEMs can fight it out in 2010.

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2. She's got a couple of years before she has stand for an election,

so I wouldn't worry if she's hasn't gotten her sea legs just yet. If she can't hack the hustings, I imagine she won't run in 2010.

[JDPriestly]

10. The appointee to the Senate should be someone who can win in 2010.

We cannot afford to lose that seat in what is likely to be a hotly contested election year. Remember how Republicans took Congress (Newt Gingrich's campaign against America) in 1994 after Clinton's election in 1992. The Democratic Party cannot afford to take the risk on Caroline Kennedy. She should sit in the House a while before going for a Senate seat.

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12. If she manages to get appointed, why wouldn't she get reelected?

She'll be facing the exact same opposition, including the NYT and the rest of the complict media, and she'll be an incumbent to boot. I really don't see it as a problem.

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4. Here's a video from today's appearance,

and she sounds and looks pretty confident, except maybe for the scramble at the end:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Caroline_in_Harlem.html

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. What's an "education advocate"?

She is, to be sure " an author",( I'd wager a buck-fifty she had unattributed help on the books, a la Arthur Schlessinger on Profiles in Courage), "a lawyer" and a "mother". There's no reason to think she's submental in any of those capacities but was she really transcendent, in any sense?

The educational advocate thing : it's not the Bloomberg gig as a NYC PS 'fundraiser' is it?

Yumpin' Yiminy.

[JDPriestly]

11. Fundraisers are either grant-writers, event organizers, direct mail types

or rich people with connections. Caroline Kennedy is the rich person with connections type. She should sit on boards of directors. That's her milieu. She's great and can do a lot of good in that capacity. She is just no political material. It is not in her personality.

[roguevalley]

19. lots of her family are writers. I doubt she had ghost writers. You know,

its fine to think about her missing points but give her credit for her achievements.

[Cha]

23. Now you're just making up

shit to prop up your opposition.

[Book Lover]

5. Holy cow, Mario Cuomo as our senator?

Boy would that be great.

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6. What about all that dynasty and nepotism stuff?

Mario holding a place for his son sounds distinctly nepotistic AND dynastic, not that it bothers me particularly.

[Book Lover]

8. My first thought was our former governor as senator, but I must admit that your point is valid

Not that the seat should be held for anyone in 2010. I was just dreaming of Mario back in public service. I haven't been impressed with Andrew.

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18. I really like Mario too, and would love to see him back in gov.

If he'd spoken for the seat before Caroline I'd definitely be rooting for him. This seems to be Caroline's moment though as she did a lot of work for the Obama campaign and this is her golden opportunity. I'm really glad she sees it that way frankly. I think entering at a lesser level or waiting longer would probably doom her, and that would be a shame.

[EFerrari]

15. That's okay. Bobby was a mess when he first started out, too.

[whathehell]

16. I agree. She seems to lack energy, for one thing. n/t

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20. She's real. I like her low key style and hope she doesn't

change it. Low key and slightly sarcastic, which to me means she knows the score and is playing along like a good soldier.

[whathehell]

22. To each his own. n/t

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3. Louise Slaughter adds her support, says she's "astonished" by press aggression:

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), whose district includes Rochester and Buffalo, said she had never met Kennedy before now but has become an enthusiastic backer. "I think she's superbly qualified," Slaughter said in a telephone interview. "I think she has the intellect for it. I think she has the drive for it. And she's got the recognition."

Slaughter said, "I was really quite astonished at the barrage that hit her," referring to questions from political rivals for the seat, and the New York media, questioning Kennedy's qualifications. "I've not heard people grilled like that, like 'where have you been lately.'"

However in upstate and western New York, there is considerably more resistance. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, also mentioned as a possibility for the senate seat, said in a telephone interview he found Kennedy "warm, approachable, very down to earth" and said she had the "capacity to do the job."

But he added, "I stressed to her very strongly that people from Buffalo and Western New York would want to see an upstater on the ticket."

[TaffyMoon]

7. I just think she will be wonderful,

a wonderful Senator.

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13. I do too.

It's hard to see the resistance as anything but the permanent anti-Kennedy noise machine.

[fujiyama]

14. I don't know

I don't have any particular issues with her, but it still makes me uncomfortable in a sense that she's almost entitled to this seat, having not run for any electoral political position, or even taking strong stands on various issues or candidates (until Obama). I mean, it seems kind of silly. She's written some books, which as far as I know are non confrontational, not controversial, and somewhat sentimental. She's a NYC socialite and has lent her name to fundraising for various causes. There's nothing wrong with any of those things but I'm not sure if that's quite enough to just have you appointed to the senate (after having never seemingly shown much interest in running for office earlier).

Now, I think she'd make a decent senator and I don't have any issues with her. I'd be more comfortable if she were running in a primary, because that would have forced her to develop a real campaign strategy and gain actual campaigning experience. It may have given an idea how may face against a general election opponent. It was to Obama's benefit that he faced a spirited and tough challenge against Hillary. And you also get to see how VOTERS reactions are. Caroline is now basically campaigning to a one person constituency.

The next few days will be telling. If she holds up well under the current scrutiny and media attention she may be fine. After all, people were skeptical of Hillary too, but she managed to do it. Granted, she had help from Giuliani dropping out and Lazio ran a really crappy campaign.

As long as NY has a Dem senator, that's what matters. I get the impression the republican party there is in especially bad shape. So whomever is appointed is likely to win. If Caroline Kennedy can make a strong case, then I wish her the best of luck.

[vssmith]

17. Can she be bought?

Plenty of politicians in this country are bought and paid for by business interests--credit card companies, wall street, big pharma etc etc. Is she up for sale? My opinion: there is less likelihood that she will be owned by these interests than almost all other candidates. I do not live in NY but I would like to see her in the senate.

[Smarmie Doofus]

21. That's what people said about Bloomberg and then Bloomberg...

... began *buying* the political process.

Lesson: Government should regulate private capital; not the other way around.

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24. Bloomberg lives and breathes big business, and made his nut

running a financial news service. Now he's rich beyond Midas's dreams. Caroline's background is in politics and law, so there's not much danger of her turning into a Bloomberg.