Election Issues Today

Who gets the New York Senate Seat?

Cuomo, Kennedy, Gillibrand (l-r)

Now that Caroline has opted out of the Senate consideration, the focus for Hilary’s seat seems to be on Andrew Cuomo, the New York Attorney General and former HUD Secretary, and two term New York Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand.  Governor David Paterson is likely to announce his appointment choice in the next 24 hours, and no other top names have appeared recently. For weeks, there has been much speculation on whether Paterson would appoint a female to replace Hilary Clinton, and attention had been centered around Kennedy, and now, on Gillibrand.

I’ve seen that there is some concern that Andrew Cuomo’s younger brother, Chris, who works on-air at ABC’s Good Morning America, might present a political problem for Andrew (and for Governor Paterson), as some political and media persons are questioning the potential for a conflict-of-interest between family members sitting in the Senate and in the GMA anchor seat (potentially in the anchor seat, anyway).

I personally favored Caroline Kennedy for the Senate and thought she would have done an outstanding job in representing the people of New York.  At any rate, she has her own reasons for withdrawing her name from consideration and we have to respect that.

In the end, Governor Paterson may surprise everyone and appoint someone who has not been in the media and actively posturing for the Senate seat. 

Caroline Kennedy and the Making of a U.S. Senator

What exactly qualifies a person to be a U.S. Senator?  Not constitutionally, but in our own eyes?

Caroline Kennedy is 51 years old, a graduate of Radcliffe College at Harvard and Columbia Law.  She is intelligent and informed and carries both the burden and the benefits of her family name.

She has stated that her interests in the Senate seat are “patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined.”

She would bring to the job name recognition and the ability to focus attention on issues she deems to be important.  Her favors and alliances would be sought after by the most experienced old hands in the Senate.  They know the power of a name and the value of influence.  She would bring both to the job.

She probably has as many qualifications for the Senate as Hilary Clinton did when she ran for the same seat.  She probably is more qualified than Al Franken who ran for the Senate in Minnesota this year.  Remember Ronald Reagan ran for California governor from his position as president of the Screen Actors Guild.  And Arnold, the current California governor?  What were his qualifications?   I think…POTENTIAL for LEADERSHIP, is perceived by voters and they respond at the ballot box.  So if Kennedy does get the appointment, she will have to hold on to it at the ballot box in 2010, and then again at the end of the shortened term in 2012.

You don’t know how well a candidate will do until he or she gets into the job.  Some of  the best-qualified candidates in U.S. history didn’t do all that well in office.  (Herbert Hoover comes to mind.)

So I wish Caroline good luck.  I think she would do a good job.