Reply #60: the only relevant observation is whether one thinks CK or someone else would be a better senator [View All]

[onenote]

My support for CK is based on one simple consideration: I believe she will help New York and the Democratic party, more than any of the other prospective appointees. Why? Because she has already established how valuable her endorsement is with her endorsement of Obama. And members of the senate, who generally would not seek out a freshman senator for support or would lend their support to the agenda of a freshman senator, will be more inclined to do so with CK than the other prospective appointees. Maybe her "clout" is all traceable to her name and connections. So what. If you are a Democratic senator trying to excite your base of Democratic voters and expand your support among independents in 2010, who would you rather join you at a campaign event -- Caroline Kennedy or Carolyn Maloney? That's not a slap at Maloney, who is a very good member of Congress. Its just reality. Horse trading is how the Senate works and in order to horse trade you need political capital, and CK had more political capital (at least of the kind that would interest other senators) than any of the other prospective appointees.