Bill Clinton Still Upset with Kennedy, Richardson

As a grudge keeper myself, I wouldn't be mad at Kennedy, but Richardson is fair game. Via Taegan-

The New York Times Magazine has a must-read profile of Bill Clinton and how he's adjusted to having a Democrat once again in the White House -- but one who is not his wife.

"People close to Clinton said he has largely got over his resentment at Obama but not toward Ted Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy. As Clinton sees it, they say, he did so much for the Kennedys over the years that he felt they became almost family. Nor has he forgiven Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who endorsed Obama even though Clinton appointed him to two cabinet posts."

Gov. David Paterson Admits Role in Kennedy Smear

By GottaLaff

Gee, I didn't know that, by ordering my staff to contradict Caroline's story, it would turn all mean and stuff!

For the first time, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) acknowledged "that he personally ordered his staff to contest Caroline Kennedy's version of events in the hours after she withdrew from consideration to be United States senator," the New York Times reports.

However, Paterson said that he was "bewildered when his staffers subsequently unleashed harsh personal attacks against Ms. Kennedy."

Said Paterson: "The things said about Caroline I found despicable and shocking and very painful. I never would have imagined removing the idea that this is my first choice meant a character assassination."

Well, okay, since you put it that way.

Paterson Leaks Intended to Smear Kennedy

By GottaLaff

Surprise, surprise. Check out the last sentence, the one I highlighted in red:

A New York Times investigation of the appointment process to fill New York's vacant U.S. Senate seat finds that "it's clear" that New York Gov. David Paterson's (D) administration "released confidential information" about Caroline Kennedy "and misled reporters about its significance as part of an orchestrated effort to discredit her after she withdrew."

"According to advisers to the governor who were involved in the process, the leaks against Ms. Kennedy were coordinated by Judith A. Smith, a consultant who has been acting as the governor's top communications strategist."

Apparently, Fred Dicker was right.

Update: The New York Daily News reports Smith was formerly deputy White House press secretary under President Bush.

Paterson Called Out on Leaks

By GottaLaff

Busted:

Fred Dicker: "Gov. Paterson yesterday insisted he had no idea who did the slime job on Caroline Kennedy -- although the source of the information is about as close to him during the day as his wife is at night. He's a liar."

"The person responsible for the smear was an individual whose identity is well known to the press, whose full-time job is to do the governor's bidding, and who is intelligent enough not to call reporters to damage Kennedy's reputation without approval from the top -- and that means Paterson."

Then again, Dicker writes for the New York Post.

Kennedy Family "Furious" with Paterson

By GottaLaff

I wouldn't want the Kennedy clan angry at me:

"An 'apoplectic' Kennedy family is seething over the rough treatment that heiress apparent Caroline got from Gov. Paterson's office and is spoiling for revenge," the New York Post reports.

Said one "well-placed" Democrat: "The governor's going to pay for this. Ted is furious. The family is furious. The Kennedys are now against the governor."

Okay, that's from the Post. Grain of salt.

The New York Daily News quotes another source close to the Kennedy family: "Maybe [Paterson] was caught off guard by her decision, but to disparage her the way they have is beyond understanding."

The Daily News. 'Nuff said.

New York magazine on Paterson: "His style of governance, a dizzy mix of ingratiation and trickeration, has turned what could have been a moment of triumph -- a powerful new ally in the Senate, a relationship with President Obama -- into a slapstick fiasco, a fitting sequel to the way Paterson got the job in the first place."

There seems to be a media consensus on that one, no matter what the source. The entire process turned into a circus, and the media have managed to confirm their tabloid bent by jumping on the band wagon.

In the world of comedy, there's an implicit rule for success: Know when to stop. Unfortunately, in this case, it was a comedy of errors.

Housekeeper and Taxes Are Said to Derail Kennedy’s Bid

By GottaLaff

Norah O'Donnell is having a field day jumping all over Caroline's "disastrous, bungled, rocky" bid for governor. "What's going on here??" she asked incredulously of Washington Post's Ruth Marcus:

Problems involving taxes and a household employee surfaced during the vetting of Caroline Kennedy and derailed her candidacy for the Senate, a person close to Gov. David A. Paterson said on Thursday, in an account at odds with Ms. Kennedy’s own description of her reasons for withdrawing. [...]

Hard feelings toward Ms. Kennedy were clearly building among the governor’s staff on Thursday, after a dramatic evening in which she was reported to be dropping out, then wavering, then ultimately, shortly after midnight on Thursday, issuing a statement ending her candidacy.

A person close to the governor:

“The fiasco of the last 24 hours reinforced why the governor never intended to choose her,” the person said.

Uh-huh, sure, yeah, but she was still under consideration. Go read the New York Times piece for their depicition of the madness surrounding Kennedy's decision.

Watching O'Donnell's interview with Marcus, and now with the author of this article (who is wondering aloud if the housekeeper may actually be the issue at all), I can safely say that the media have gone completely tabloid about this.

Whatever happened to professionalism?

Why Caroline withdrew

By GottaLaff

I wonder what this is about:

According to a knowledgeable Democratic source that spoke with Time, Caroline Kennedy withdrew from consideration for the vacant U.S. Senate seat "because of a personal matter that arose 48 hours before she fully expected to be chosen" by New York Gov. David Paterson.

"Without talking to her political advisers, Kennedy called Paterson and told her she had a personal issue that made her inclined to withdraw her name. He told her to take 24 hours to reconsider. She took that time on her own, and ultimately decided to stick with her original decision."

Caroline Kennedy update: News that's not news

By GottaLaff

If news isn't news, does that make it olds?

The New York Daily News reports everyone is denying the story. "According to multiple sources, the candidate is AWOL at the moment, and everyone close to her is blindsided by this bombshell. It appears someone might have jumped the gun early, and this news might not be, well, news."

Good ol' media; "accuracy" is consistently its watchword.

My cousin-in-law discusses Caroline Kennedy

By GottaLaff

How exactly does one refer to one's husband's cousin, anyway? This is the very same woman (Mr. Laffy's cousin Ellen) who I referred to in a previous post. She has co-authored best-selling books with Caroline Kennedy, and now AP has interviewed her for a piece on "friends discussing Caroline". I'm all a-twitter:

By the time she was in Columbia University Law School more than a decade later, her intellectual curiosity, and her studiousness, still made an impression.

"She's the A-plus student who does 110 percent," said classmate, friend and eventual co-author Ellen Alderman. "We were nerds ... the two Type A personalities who had worked very hard in school."

Inspired by some of their law school case studies, Kennedy and Alderman had a book proposal completed before they graduated. Soon they were traveling the country, interviewing people who had been caught up in civil rights cases for "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action."

Kennedy was very good at putting their interviewees at ease, Alderman said. There was never any talk then of a political career, she said, but looking back she's unsurprised.

"For me now it seems very natural," she said. "The most important part of the research we did was talking to people and listening to them. And she's terrific on the legal end, on the analysis and the issues, and she's terrific on the people end, on understanding how the law and government affects people every day."

Kennedy had her first daughter, Rose, around the same time she graduated from Columbia in 1988, and her professional life took shape around her children.

When Alderman became pregnant, she recalls, Kennedy became her "mommy mentor," showing her what she needed to pack a diaper bag, and giving her advice on work: "You can still do it, you're just not going to have eight, 10, 12 hours at a time," Alderman recalls her saying. [...]

Kennedy's friends and colleagues talk about what a remarkably "normal" life she lives, but one could argue they're not the best judges. After all, her circle includes famous authors, a co-president of HBO, a former head of the Democratic National Committee, senators and the president-elect.

Kennedy's finances _ estimated by some at more than $400 million _ never came up, Alderman said. The co-authors swapped who paid for dinner, and they flew coach. Kennedy has an assistant but does not use a driver, takes the subway around New York and books her own flights, friends said.

I'm so proud of Ellen. She's as nice and sweet as she can be, and so accomplished. And she pals around with the coolest people.

Caroline Kennedy clears political hurdle

By GottaLaff

When will all of this speculation and quibbling finally be dispensed with? It's so Campbell Brown ago. And as an aside, I never thought I'd see the day when the press (and so many others) would come down on, of all people, the universally beloved Caroline Kennedy.

That said, here's the latest boost for her pursuit of that coveted U.S. Senate seat:

Caroline Kennedy appears to have cleared a big hurdle in her quest to replace outgoing New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a powerful Democrat who has questioned whether Kennedy is the best choice to fill the likely vacant seat, said Wednesday he will support Kennedy should she ultimately be appointed to the post.

"I have determined there's a good possibility she will be the appointee of the governor," Silver told the New York Post. "If she is the appointee of the governor, I will certainly be supportive of her. I will work for her and will work strenuously for her election."

As opposed to:

Silver's comments differ markedly from his statements last week, when he suggested Kennedy is too closely allied with Michael Bloomberg, the Republican-turned-Independent New York City Mayor.

"If I were the governor, I would look and question whether this is the appointment I would want to make: whether her first obligation might be to the mayor of the City of New York, rather than to the governor who would be appointing her," Silver told an Albany radio station then.

So what changed?

In the interview with the Post, Silver acknowledged he is now more favorable of Kennedy than he was last week, and said she will likely help the governor get elected to a full term in 2010 if she is on the ballot herself.

"The governor, I think, wants to run [in 2010] with a strong candidate, and I'm sure…having a well-known woman on the ticket will be helpful," he said.

The preceding whiplash was brought to you by Democrats for Paterson.

Bloomberg Aide Drops Kennedy Push

I'm guessing they were surprised by the push back on Caroline's appointment. Personally, I like this guy for the seat.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's top political aide, Kevin Sheekey, "is pulling back on his lobbying campaign to propel Caroline Kennedy into the U.S. Senate because 'it wasn't working,'" the New York Post reports.

Said the source: "They tried to take everybody else out. It didn't work. They were out there way, way too early."

I have Obama connections!

By GottaLaff

Mr. Laffy just got off the phone with his cousin. She is the sister of three other cousins, and what cousins they are! So far, I know three of the four, and am happy to say, adore them all. However, here's what I didn't know:

Mr. Laffy's first cousin, I now find out, is a Philadelphia lawyer who was co-chair of the Pennsylvania finance committee for Obama, and part of the national finance committee, during the election. Now he's part of the transition team! He's the one I have yet to meet.

Cousin #2, the other brother, is in charge of Caroline Kennedy's finances. So, I guess that means he's the one responsible for giving out her financial disclosure information. The last time I saw him and his family was a couple of years ago when we all had dinner together (and had a cool Elton John sighting only a table away). That was before I got into blogging, so any political talk was brief and across a large, crowded table.

And if all that's not enough, their sister, Ellen Alderman, is the one I've mentioned previously who has co-authored two best-sellers with Caroline. They were Columbia Law School students together. She was recently quoted here in the New York Times.

I will now officially begin a campaign to get them to introduce me to the future president.

Kennedy says 9/11, Obama led her to public service

By GottaLaff

I'm trying to use my son's laptop, that has no mouse of course, so everything is taking me forever to do. I also have none of my usual bookmarks, so I'm now embarking on Remedial Posting 101.

Here's a trial post all the way from gorgeous San Francisco:

Caroline Kennedy emerged from weeks of near-silence Friday about her bid for a Senate seat by saying that after a lifetime of closely guarded privacy, she felt compelled to answer the call to service issued by her father a generation ago.

She said two events shaped her decision to ask Gov. David
Paterson 11 days ago to consider her for the position if Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and
her work for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. [...]

She also credited her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with giving her
the courage to seek the job. [...]

She said she realizes she will have to prove herself and "work twice as
hard as anybody else." She acknowledged, "I am an unconventional choice," but
added: "We're starting to see there are many ways into public life and public
service."

Okay, this is about all I can figure out how to do on Mr. Laptop. This has already taken me four times longer than my usual posts do.

On an unrelated subject, San Francisco is crystal clear, crisp, Obama-stickery, and as charming as ever. I lived here years ago, and it's nice to see that parts of the city haven't changed.

Muir Woods was cold and smelled foresty-dee-lish, and Boudin is the best bakery (yummmm, fresh sourdough) with the best clam chowder and the nicest people ever. Tomorrow, Alcatraz. After all these years, I'm finally breaking down and taking a look at it. I'll be surprised if they don't lock me up after seeing how insanely violent I'm feeling after trying to use this computer!

I miss you all! And Paddy's doing a superb job of keeping you all up to date all by her little lonesome. Thanks, Padlock! <3

AP Exclusive: Caroline Kennedy Talks Senate Seat

I'm with Matt and Kos, Jerry Nadler would be fantastic for this seat. More here-

ALBANY--Caroline Kennedy sat for an interview with the Associated Press.

Details out later, but the AP moved a brief in which Kennedy, who is seeking appointment to a U.S. Senate seat, called herself "an unconventional choice" and said she knows she'll have to work hard to prove herself because of her famous name.

The fact that making herself available for formal interviews should mean the end of theme that Kennedy is the Sarah Palin of New York, based on how she's dealt with the media. But the "unconventional" claim could well end up as the punchline of a whole new line of gags from her critics.

Shallow Thoughts: Caroline Kennedy edition

By GottaLaff

Today's Shallow Thought:

It's pronounced, "Caro-\ˈlīn\. Not Carolyn. Caro-line. "As in "line", which rhymes with "pine".

That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.

New York Times admits goof: Letter criticizing Caroline Kennedy was fake

By GottaLaff

Sacre bleu! The retraction:

Earlier this morning, we posted a letter that was signed by Bertrand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy.

This letter was a fake. It should not have been published.

Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers.

We have already expressed our regrets to Mr. Delanoe's office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers.

This letter, like most Letters to the Editor these days, arrived by email. It is Times procedure to verify the authenticity of every letter. In this case, our staff sent an edited version of the letter to the sender of the email and did not hear back. At that point, we should have contacted Mr. Delanoe's office to verify that he had, in fact, written to us.

We did not do that. Without that verification, the letter should never have been printed.

We are reviewing our procedures for verifying letters to avoid such an incident in the future.

La lettre originale:

As mayor of Paris, I find Caroline Kennedy’s bid for the seat of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton both surprising and not very democratic, to say the least. What title has Ms. Kennedy to pretend to Hillary Clinton’s seat? We French can only see a dynastic move of the vanishing Kennedy clan in the very country of the Bill of Rights. It is both surprising and appalling.

With all the respect and admiration I have for Ms. Kennedy’s late father, I find her bid in very poor taste, and, after reading “Kennedy, Touring Upstate, Gets Less and Less Low-Key” (news article, Dec. 18), in my opinion she has no qualification whatsoever to bid for Senator Clinton’s seat.

We French have been consistently admiring of the American Constitution, but it seems that recently both Republicans and Democrats are drifting away from a truly democratic model. The Kennedy era is long gone, and I guess that New York has plenty of more qualified candidates to fill the shoes of Hillary Clinton. Can we speak of American decline?

Bertrand Delanoë
Paris, Dec.18, 2008

Nice try. Busted. Au revoir, now.

H/t: Kingsburyqc

Ouch! Caroline Kennedy's been Palin-ized

By GottaLaff

Come on. Comparing Caroline Kennedy to Grandma Palin is like comparing Gone With the Wind to Porky's:

Democratic and Republican critics of Caroline Kennedy said Sunday that the privacy she has demanded for years leaves her unprepared for the rough world of politics.

Kennedy has not publicly answered questions since she announced last week that she is seeking the New York Senate seat to be vacated by Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton if she is confirmed to be secretary of state.

“They’ve basically Sarah Palin-ized her, if I could coin a phrase,” said Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), referring to the Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential candidate criticized for being sheltered from the media. “They’re answering questions that you have to submit in writing. She’s not talking to reporters as she makes this grand tour. They’re, kind of, building a mystique and an industry around her, when we need somebody to fight.”

And this comes from a Democrat. Then he roughed her up because of her heritage:

“Rembrandt was a great artist,” Ackerman said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. “His brother Murray, on the other hand, Murray Rembrandt wouldn’t paint a house.”

Wait. Rembrandt had a brother named Murray? Murray Harmenszoon van Rijn? Of the famous Dutch Harmenszoon van Rijn chain of Delis?

I bet ol' Mur had a sandwich named for his brother.

Caroline Kennedy comes out for gay marriage

By GottaLaff

Take that, Rev. Rick:

QUESTION 2: Same-sex marriage. Do you support the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry? Do you think it's appropriate that Rick Warren, who campaigned to ban gay marriage, is delivering the invocation at Obama's inauguration? If not, have you expressed that to the president-elect?

ANSWER: "Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples."

Caroline Kennedy had several questions posed to her. Here's another:

QUESTION 5: Did you support or oppose the war at the time of the Oct. 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force? Is there any way to document your stance? Did you say anything public, or participate in any anti-war demonstrations? And, do you now think that 16 months is a reasonable timeline for getting American combat troops out of Iraq?

ANSWER: "Caroline opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. She supports President-Elect Obama's plan to work with our military leaders to begin a responsible withdrawal."

More here.

Not Caroline?

By GottaLaff

A slip? Or a yawner:

Ben Smith thinks Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) might have spilled the beans on Gov. David Paterson's (D) Senate appointment in an interview with a public television station:

RAFAEL PI ROMAN: Lastly, I know you talked to Governor Paterson about the replacement for Senator Clinton, I was wondering if you have any favorites among the candidates that are being discussed?

CONGESSMAN RANGEL: Well the governor has already made up his mind and he shared it with me, and I support that he's going to select the best possible candidate that he can.

RAFAEL PI ROMAN: When are we going to find that out?

CONGESSMAN RANGEL: When he selects him.

Yeahwhateverlet'smoveon.

Reid's pushing Caroline

By GottaLaff

Just FYI:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is recommending Caroline Kennedy for the seat to-be vacated by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) once she is named Secretary of State, First Read has learned.

Reid also spoke with Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston:

REID: "She's 52 years old. I've spoken to her. She was part of a vetting process for vice presidential choices for Obama. She's lived in government and politics her whole life. I think it would be a tremendous thing. ... We have a lot of stars from New York. Bobby Kennedy. Hillary Clinton. I think Caroline Kennedy would be perfect."

RALSTON: "So, are you going to call the governor of New York and say, "'She's fine in my book?'"

REID: "I already have."

Since yesterday's post, she's apparently aged two years.

UPDATE-- Ambinder's take:

[I]t struck me, nonetheless, how quickly Kennedy was able to clear the field.

The big misnomer, of course, is that Hillary Clinton was arguing against Kennedy. She wasn't. Some of her supporters were -- and they've been told to knock it off. [...]

So -- with Clinton not protesting, Caroline Kennedy had it made. She's very likeable and has lots of friends, including the governor. She'll raise a ton of money in an instant. She has no baggage. An appealing personal history. And -- most importantly -- the implied support of the President-elect.

The other big factor: Kennedy consultant Josh Isay. He's THISCLOSE to Sen. Chuck Schumer. Schumer is Harry Reid's chief political adviser. Reid's enthusiasm today bubbled over. You can see the tectonic plates moving if you look closely.