When you think of Caroline Kennedy running for Senator, imagine how you'd feel

[pnwmom]

if after a few inspiring, invigorating years in office, something happened to tragically end Obama's Presidency. Imagine your own disappointment, and imagine the pain of the whole country watching Malia and Sasha and Michelle leave the White House.

Imagine that both girls grow up to be intelligent, hardworking, accomplished women -- whom all Americans can be proud of -- but that neither shows an interest in politics. Until one day, Malia does. She's 50 years old, with an undergraduate degree from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard. Since then, she's had a long career of service, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for charitable causes, and she's written books about Constitutional law. But she's now decided to follow her father into politics. She has a network of supporters across the country who've been urging her to run, and she knows that fundraising won't be a problem.

A position has just opened up in the Senate, and she's asked the governor to consider appointing her. She knows that she'll have to run for the seat in the next general election, and then run again in only two years, but she feels ready to handle the pressures.

Wouldn't you be happy to see Malia take that step? Or Sasha?

Or would you be complaining about political dynasties and the unfairness of it all?

[Warpy]

1. Good points, all

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is qualified on her own merits without the handicap of her famous name.

Were she unqualified, there would be ample grounds to reject her for the vacant Senate seat. However, as the author of several books on constitutional law, she is supremely qualified to fill the seat.

It shouldn't matter what her name is.

[stillcool]

2. I guess it's not only the right-wingers..

who don't like the name Kennedy.

[DJ13]

4. No, also the still hurting Clinton supporters

They probably still consider Ted's early support for Obama as treason against their chosen dynasty, and resent Caroline's simultaneous support for the same reason.

[stillcool]

5. ah..I forgot about that..

kind of funny when some of those people trash Obama for not being 'left' enough. I guess the Kennedy's are next.

[Name removed]

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[Marrah_G]

44. Really? I love the thought of her in the senate.

Blaming this crap on Clinton supporters is BS and I think you know it.

I certainly was never upset with ANYONE for supporting Obama.

[pacalo]

3. Great analogy, but those opposed seem to be Clinton supporters.

What if this were about Chelsea & her accomplishments -- which are?

:hi:

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[pacalo]

16. I probably shouldn't have generalized, but I saw a connection on another

thread -- posters with Clinton avatars who didn't care for Caroline as senator.

[Name removed]

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[TheWraith]

21. Nobody said it was universal.

But most of the people who are trashing CK--not just against her selection, but trashing her--are PUMA and former PUMA types. For that matter I'm not particularly behind her either, but that's a far cry from the nastiness that some people are sending her way.

[Marrah_G]

45. Oh for fuck sake stop it.

It is not the "Clinton supporters"

[Captain Hilts]

6. Obama will be a FAR better president than JFK...

who royally screwed up on foreign policy, was engaging in blackmailable behavior and had serious health issues and was taking meds that horrified RFK.

DON'T put Obama in that category.

Stop the JFK comparisons RIGHT NOW.

[onenote]

10. I certainly hope that Obama will be the best president of my lifetime, but

apart from his accomplishments, limited and flawed as they may have been, comparisons between Obama and JFK are not unwarranted because inspiring people -- particularly younger people -- to become involved in their government and in public service (for example,the Peace Corps, established by executive order by JFK less than two months after his inauguration) -- are hallmark traits of both men.

[pnwmom]

13. We don't really know what kind of Presidency he'd have had if it

hadn't been cut short.

But it sounds as if, with regard to JFK, you've been drinking some of the Rethug's Kool-aid.

[Captain Hilts]

35. Wow - you drop the "Re-thug" bomb!

It won't work.

It's just history.

[malaise]

17. Sadly If he continues on the Afghanistan path

his foreign policy will be just as flawed.

[Libertyfirst]

19. Take another pill and chill out. n/t

[roguevalley]

25. I don't know how old you are but perhaps you had to be cognizant

then. There was HOPE and possibility on a scale that only Obama has approached, INTELLIGENCE was king and people were rearranging their lives because the President said this is a way to live, go this way and change the world. You can do it, you-little person-can change the world. To reduce JFK to a
few lines of negativity is to be deaf to the poetry that you all are celebrating now with his doppelganger, Obama. JFK kept nuclear war from happening and that more than addresses what might be foreign policy mistakes that people can see now, forty years later through a microscope.

NOTE: The greatest Russian expert in America was at my grandma's house playing monopoly with us when the call from the White House reached us that he had to come in and help JFK prevent a nuclear war. I will never forget sitting on the floor with my brother and cousin, watching him talk to the White House. "Mr. White" as we knew him then apologized ... APOLOGIZED! ... that he had to go to work. He went to Washington, DC and helped save the world.

That is the legacy of Caroline Kennedy's father. God bless them all.

[pnwmom]

31. I was only a child then, roguevalley, but I can well remember the feelings that

he inspired in the adults around me -- and the terrible sadness and feelings of loss at the end.

Thank you for helping to remind us.

[roguevalley]

40. back atcha, honey. I cried for three days. I genuinely thought that

the world was going to end. I will never forget the fear on my parents' faces. Awesome moment in time, the JFK years.

[Captain Hilts]

36. My phd is in Soviet studies...

Yes, JFK did prevent a nuclear war from happening - by having the blockade. Brilliant.

But it was his inexperience in his meeting with Khrushchev that emboldened NK to place the missiles in Cuba.
JFK was lucky NK backed down. Luck counts, I'll grant you that.

[roguevalley]

39. Very cool. Have you had a chance to go to Russia and look around?

I imagine that there are archives open that would blow our minds.

[Captain Hilts]

43. Yes, there certainly are, especially as since...

EVERYTHING was classified as SECRET. They really didn't have an effective way of classifying it in increments of any kind, so all sorts of stuff was declassified that they probably shouldn't have declassified! It's just wild.

I first went in 1980 for a visit. Lived in Moscow in 1993 for all the shooting and fighting and I met Yeltsin in McDonald's.

I think, overall, Kennedy did a lot of good things, but we would have avoided some things - Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis - had, say, Averill Harriman been president instead. Nixon certainly was just as dangerous in 1960 as he'd be in '68. The whiz kids Kennedy hired - McNamara, Rusk and Bundy, etc. went into Vietnam full steam ahead. Though, you are right, the archives that have opened suggest that JFK was seriously reconsidering the whole venture. And, the FIRST troops went to Vietnam under Ike. Just about nobody knows that. Vietnam was not JFK's idea.

Obama appears to be daring in politics, but cautious on policy, which is a good combination.

[roguevalley]

46. Viet Nam killed every president who touched it. Very terrible thing,

war. No one comes out with all their fingers and toes.

I hear Yeltsin was a piece of work, very unpredictable to be around. How cool is that that you got to meet him. :)

I hear they have the remains of Hitler in their archives. That archives interests me on the same scale as the Vatican's, all forbidden fruit and terrible secrets. I agree on the Obama comment. I think it will get us farther.

[JackRiddler]

9. Imagine you were a character on Dynasty, too...

Wouldn't that just be great?

[pnwmom]

12. Actually, not. I've never been envious of that kind of life. n/t

[bertman]

11. I was NOT a Hillary supporter. And while I believe that Caroline Kennedy would probably

be a good Senator I am ready to see some other hard-working Democratic loyalists who have been working their way up the ladder get a shot at the job.

I admired both JFK and RFK and I appreciate Ted's liberal stances, but I'm against dynasties of the Left or the Right.

But, in the end, it's the voters of New York who should decide this.

[pnwmom]

14. Would you be against Malia going into politics under similar circumstances

as Caroline, or would you be happy to see her follow her father's footsteps?

And do you think picking a Senator should be a matter of rewarding a politician for hard work -- or for choosing the person who will be most effective in beating the Republican and representing a state's needs?

[bertman]

15. Are you trying to tug at my heartstrings, pnwmom? The Malia question is a bit wacky,

but I understand that you're trying to gin up sympathy for some hypothetical occurrence.

I already said that I think the people of New York--Democrats of New York, actually was what I meant--should decide. Are there no other Democrats who could beat the Republican? This seems like an exercise in "what if?" to me.

[pnwmom]

20. I'm not trying to "gin up sympathy," but I am trying to explain

how many Americans, age 50 and up, feel about Caroline Kennedy. John Kennedy was an inspiring figure, as Obama is, and we felt a terrible loss when he was murdered and the First Family left the White House. Many of us would be happy to see Caroline follow in her father's footsteps, just as many of us would be happy to see an Obama girl or two do the same thing.

Caroline, even before this announcement, was being supported by twice as many NYers as the next most popular candidate, Andrew Cuomo (the son of the former Governor). No other candidate would do better against the Republicans, IMHO.

[bertman]

24. I find it absolutely unbelievable that you are talking about wanting to see two pre-teen

kids follow in their father's footsteps without having any freaking idea about how they might decide to pursue their own lives. This is maudlin bullshit.

P.S. I'm over 50 and I don't worship Caroline Kennedy.

[tabbycat31]

26. Well did anyone expect Caroline to enter politics

She was not exactly pre-teen during her years in the WH, but mostly pre-school. In 1963 when her father was killed, did anyone expect her to carry out the family legacy.

Disclaimer, I was years away from birth during the Kennedy administration.

[pnwmom]

27. I am not saying I want them to -- but I would welcome them if they did.

As opposed to treating them like they were pariahs, for having the nerve to want to use all their resources -- including their family name -- in order to pursue a career in politics.

[bertman]

30. Treating WHO like they were pariahs?? There you go again. More bullshit.

[pnwmom]

32. I have heard people here mockingly refer to Caroline as a dilettante , as a

person who never worked a day in her life, etc.

You say you oppose dynasties. Do you think that people like Caroline should be barred from politics, because her fathers and uncle had an opportunity to serve?

[bertman]

34. Apparently you did not read my first post, but only REACTED to the first words I typed.

Please go back and read my post and you will see the answer to your question.

You appear to be so emotionally invested in this that you are not taking the time to read and think about what I am saying. I appreciate your good intentions, but all of this hyperbole does not contribute to an honest discussion.

[1776Forever]

18. I am not complaining - it cannot happen soon enough! We need more intelligent women in the Senate!

Thank you Caroline for being willing to serve our country!

:yourock:

[TheWraith]

22. It's not about Caroline Kennedy. I like her, I really do. And I'd like having her as my senator.

Which she would be, if she's appointed.

But I think that it's not just about whether or not she'd be good, but whether she should really jump to the top of the list simply by virture of who she is.

I'm not particularly opposed to her--I simply have a strong skepticism of political dynasties. Most of them haven't worked out well for us.

[pnwmom]

28. Part of what she is is a woman with a high and respected public profile,

an unblemished personal record, and a proven fund-raising and campaigning ability -- as well as being a progressive on the issues.

Isn't the point to find a candidate who can beat the Republican, and who is a progressive? She's already the preferred candidate of twice as many New Yorkers as the next name on the list. Shouldn't that count for something?

[charlie]

23. Imagine how you'd feel

if she lost the seat because she turned out to be a horribly inept campaigner. It's not just about dynasties and unfairness, there are practical considerations.

Manipulative sentimental hooey, as compelling as it might feel, is still just hooey.

[pnwmom]

29. She's already been involved in campaigning, for Obama, for Ted,

and in other campaigns.

And she's going to have lots of experienced help. Lots of Senators have started out with less to offer than she has.

[charlie]

33. No

Making appearances on behalf of a candidate is not campaigning, it's speechifying. Nobody knows what sort of candidate she'll make. If others had "less to offer", most of them still claimed office by campaigning, which is what she'll have to do.

I'm not terribly resistant to the idea of Kennedy taking the seat. For all I know, she might might become the fiercest, most awesome Senator ever. But this junk about how no one should stand in her way because of your maudlin drama is nonsense. Unless of course, you (and she) can sell it to more than half of NY's electorate and make it stick. I wish you luck with that.

[EFerrari]

42. She'd have to run again in 2010 and 2012. Plenty of time to sort that out.

There's no way we're losing that seat.

[kskiska]

38. Suppose JFK Jr. had wanted the seat under the same circumstances?

Would he have been better qualified? Is there a little sexism at work re: Caroline?

[ShortnFiery]

41. Why am I getting the impression this will be made into a Hallmark Movie re: Political Nobility?

:eyes:

[KamaAina]

47. Note that her dad (him you know) only got into politics because his older brother was killed in WWII

Joe Kennedy was supposed to carry on the family legacy. JFK only entered the political fray after his death.

Similarly, in this generation, John-John was well on his way to his own political career, right up until the plane crash. :( Now, perhaps, Caroline feels it's her turn.