Kirstin Gillebrand might turn out to be a good United States Senator. The problem is that the governor shot her in the foot with an amateurish, vain, nearly-Shakespearean "search" for the right candidate.
Caroline Kennedy might not have been the best choice for the Senate - at least at this moment - but to suggest that she is "unfit" for the office or to permit aides to anonymously question her integrity says more about the governor's minor league approach to the appointment than it will ever say about Ms. Kennedy. I don't buy this whole American Royalty nonsense. That's not the reason to treat her with respect. She deserves respect because she is an American who has stepped up and served her nation with extraordinary humility and dignity and, by the way, for no compensation whatsoever. Don't tell me she "doesn't need the money". There are plenty of multi-millionaire public servants who have no trouble at all accepting a government salary.
As for the few "ums" and "y'knows", stop by any elite university and you will find that lots of Phi Beta Kappas with the humility of Ms. Kennedy pepper their otherwise thoughtful comments with some filler from time to time. They don't do it because they are stupid or callow. They do it because they are understandably nervous and didn't spend all of their time at school learning form over substance or taking classes in political interview etiquette, nor do they pore over the newspapers to ensure that they always sound perfectly well-scripted.
Say what you want to about Andrew Cuomo - a history of being an abrasive guy with sharp elbows and a love of the spotlight - but he's really smart and really committed to public service. We're lucky that he decided to run for attorney general and not sit around some white shoe law firm figuring out ways to shield irresponsible corporations from liability.
Don't forget the other great potential candidates. Steve Israel comes to mind. He has an extraordinary Congressional record but apparently he wasn't as telegenic as Senator Gillebrand, wasn't as geographically strategic or didn't kiss the right ring at the right time.
Send a letter to Governor Patterson and let him know that Senator Gillebrand's coattails may not be so long when she appears on the ballot with him in the next election. I come from upstate New York. It's the height of cynicism to think that an endorsement from the NRA for your U.S. Senate candidate will innoculate you from criticism for turning a sober process into a bad rip-off of American Idol.
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2 comments:
The view of the Democratic politicians in this neck of upstate NY is that it was good choice because she will be more in tune with the needs and problems of central and western New York, as opposed to Ms. Kennedy, Mr. Swazi or any other "downstate" Democrat. Only time will tell. The NRA endorsement does bother me; one can support hunting and hunter's rights with out buying into the NRA's view of what the 2nd Amendment means in today's America.
David, keep up the good work on this blog; your eloquence serves as an example of what President Obama means when he says we can disagree without being disagreeable.
The best part of this whole mess is that Upstate finally gets a U.S. Senator who knows from personal experience what The Egg actually is and knows that it is still hard for the average Upstate New Yorker to buy the average 3 bedroom house - even when it's listed for under $100K. Dairy farmers - at the least the few of them left who are still solvent - will likely appreciate someone who understands that dairy price supports help to preserve a vital industry and help stabilize supermarket prices.
Your comments are exactly what I am hoping to encourage on this little blog. Life and politics are far more complicated than the cute little sound bites we get fed from network news outlets. If Senator Gillibrand can peel off a few dollars for high speed rail, create some targeted tax credits to keep and grow some businesses that will pay real wages with real benefits and reinvigorate our local trade schools and community colleges, we might just have a keeper. If she can check off a couple of those, I'll forgive the NRA stuff and support her work.
I guess at these moments it's worth remembering that none of us could easily withstand the scrutiny that comes along with being a candidate for any office, let alone U.S. Senate. I shudder to think of some of my political comments over the last couple of decades.
Of all the commenters so far, you are the one who really seems to understand what I'm trying to accomplish here - even if only my friends end up reading it.
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