And the Next Senator from New York Is...

It is truly amazing how members of the press consistently fail to ask the right questions. On the issue of whether Caroline Kennedy is qualified to be the next Senator from New York, the answer is an unqualified yes.

But the better questions, and the ones that the press and opinion makers need to ask is whether she is the most qualified, and whether she should get it.

Starting with my second question first, whether she should get it, I am inclined to ask another question--is the fact that she is a Kennedy (and not just any Kennedy--but the daughter of the main man Kennedy of them all--JFK) germaine to the issue. The answer is yes. Caroline Schlossberg is not asking for the position. Caroline Kennedy is. But for her middle/pre marriage name, Caroline Schlossberg would be another socialite (with a good track record) requesting the appointment. It would be a request that would be easily turned down by Governor Patterson. But as Caroline Kennedy, Patterson's choice becomes more difficult.

But why is it more difficult 45 years after Camelot? Because a lot of Americans long for those days, even if they weren't alive during Camelot. Camelot evinces dreams of a an optimistic time, a political era named for a Broadway play about a fictional English king whose legend of gallantry remains a part of English lore to this day. Americans want a monarchy. Not the kind that you have to support with tax dollars and curtsy to, but one whose family history we can follow with sadness, happiness, pride, and sometimes even derision. Like the Windsors of the United Kingdom, the Kennedy's every move is the subject of fascination. But unlike the entertainment celebrities with whom they are often compared, their's is a family of uncommon devotion to public service. And unlike the Windsors, their public service is usually quite serious and not the socialite type stuff that the Windsors returned to after Diana was killed.

So for all intents and purposes the Kennedys are an exceptional family of exceptional public service. Some may claim that this is really about power. But with the exception of Ted Kennedy, no one in that family has had any real political power since Robert Kennedy was Senator of New York. But the public service has remained a family virtue in the intervening 40 years.

But does all of this mean that Caroline Kennedy should get the job? These facts and her own public service does not mean that she should get the job. In New York City alone there are thousands of equally talented and involved people who have raised money, designed public service initiatives, organized communities, written books on policy, taught inner city children that could do as good if not a better job than Caroline Kennedy. Who is advocating for them?

And then there are people like Andrew Cuomo, the New York Attorney General and the son of the former New York governor and a member of a famous political family as well. But he does have elective office behind him and a history in the political process (how he got his initial start might be as interesting as Caroline's present efforts).

The fact of the matter is that it is unlikely that the thousands of unknowns in New York who could do as good a job as Kennedy will ever get the chance. Perhaps it is understood that a political track record is a pre-requisite for such an appointed position. Any one can run, but perhaps proven people ought to be appointed.

Caroline Kennedy is asking for an appointment. In 2010 when she has to run, she will be the incumbant. The rules change and for Democratic rank and file, the process must be frustrating.

Craig Jackson