The Senator from Noblesse Oblige

The campaign to appoint Caroline Kennedy to the US Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton has begun in earnest, coincidentally on the day after Christmas when many gifts are marked down. Note the picture is not the campaign photo that she will use.(At least officially.) Kennedy, who has no prior public elective service commented that her major qualifications came from her parents. "Many people look to me as somebody who embodies that sense of possibility. I'm not saying that I am anything like him (JFK), I'm just saying there's a spirit that I think I've grown up with that is something that means a tremendous amount to me." And then she said "I think my mother ... made it clear that you have to live life by your own terms and you have to not worry about what other people think and you have to have the courage to do the unexpected," She defended her lack of experience by saying " we're starting to see there are many ways into public life and public service," She did not say dynasties are good. She did not have to. But she surely believes it.

One errant reported pointed out that Ms. Kennedy had failed to vote several times and she responded "I was really surprised and dismayed by my voting record, I'm glad it's been brought to my attention." She did not say, when you're a Kennedy you are not expected to vote.

The candidate ((how odd to have a term for what she wants to be starting with the word candid.) discussed how her late brother would have taken her candidacy, after commenting that he always thought of himself first (evidently a family trait) she said "He would be laughing his head off at seeing what's going on right now." Unfortunately, some people are actually taking this one seriously.

The seat she proposes to occupy has had some distinguished holders (although it could be argued in her first campaign Clinton was somewhat anointed to the job) which included Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Robert Kennedy, Charles Goodell, Chaucey Depew, Hamilton Fish and even Martin Van Buren. Even the guy who helped define the word entitlement in public policy (her uncle) might see this attempt as a bit of a stretch (but probably not).