In the 2008 presidential election, Caroline Kennedy endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama for President early in the primary race. She was later handpicked by Obama as co-chair of his Vice Presidential Search Committee, and addressed the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. After Obama's victory and selection of Hillary Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State, Kennedy's name surfaced as a possible appointment choice for the soon-to-be vacant Senate seat from New York.In December 2008, Kennedy announced her interest in the
Senate seat currently occupied by State Department-bound Hillary Roham Clinton, to be filled for two years by appointment of New York Governor David Paterson. This is the same seat that was held by Caroline's uncle Robert F. Kennedy from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968, when he was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Though Caroline Kennedy's appointment has been supported by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, State Assemblyman Vito Lopez, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and the New York Post editorial page, she has received criticism on a number of issues. For one, she did not vote in a number of Democratic primaries and general elections since registering in 1988 in New York City. For another, Caroline Kennedy also did not provide details about her political views. And lately, she has likewise received criticism (and some ridicule) for her manner of speaking.
Caroline Kennedy has the bad habit of using (overusing) the phrase 'you know' when she speaks. And the media has been noticing this of late. In her recent interview with the New York Times, she used the phrase more 138 times over the course of a relatively short interview. It has gotten to the point that you can almost predict when the 'you know' phrase will come out of her lips. A sign of uncertainty, or insincerity? I don't exactly know, you know, what it means but it is certainly a stumbling block if she wants to embark on a political career. Her audiences may get distracted by all her 'you knows' and not listening to her speeches at all. The following is an excerpt of her New York Times interview:
New York Times: Let’s talk a little bit about some of the other candidates who are interested in this job. Andrew Cuomo: he’s been attorney general, he’s been a cabinet secretary, he’s been a close adviser to a governor. He has an extensive record and knows upstate like the back of his hand. Tell me why the governor should pick you over Andrew Cuomo.
Caroline Kennedy: I’m, you know, actually, Andrew Cuomo is someone I’ve known for many, many years and we’ve talked, you know, throughout this process, so, you know, we have a really good relationship and I admire the work he’s doing now and what he’s done, so I’m not really going to kind of criticize any of these other candidates, because I think there are a lot of people with great experience, and, you know, any one of which the governor could easily pick and they’d do a good job.
New York Times: I’m not asking you to criticize; I’m saying, why should he pick you over any of these other ones, what makes you the best candidate?Caroline Kennedy: Well, it obviously depends what the governor is looking for. I can tell you what I think I’d bring to this, which is, you know, I’m not a conventional choice, I haven’t followed the traditional path, but I do think I’d bring a kind of a lifetime of experience that is relevant to this job. I think that what we’ve seen over the last year, and particularly and even up to the last — is that there’s a lot of different ways that people are coming to public life now, and it’s not only the traditional path. Even in the New York delegation, you know, some of our great senators — Hillary Clinton, Pat Moynihan — came from, you know, other walks of life. We’ve got Carolyn McCarthy, John Hall, both of them have an unconventional background, so I don’t think that that is, uh — so I think in many ways, you know, we want to have all kinds of different voices, you know, representing us, and I think what I bring to it is, you know, my experience as a mother, as a woman, as a lawyer, you know, I’ve been an education activist for the last six years here, and, you know, I’ve written seven books — two on the Constitution, two on American politics. So obviously, you know, we have different strengths and weaknesses. And I think I also bring kind of a lifetime commitment to public service, a knowledge of these issues, and I’ve spent a lot of time encouraging people, and younger people, to go into public service, through a lot of the, you know, nonprofit work I’ve done. So I think it’s a whole, it’s different, it’s completely different, and it really is up to the governor to decide who would do the best job. But in terms of a family commitment —
New York Times: But do you think, in your own view, those things would make you a better pick for this job than other candidates?
Caroline Kennedy: I think they would make me a really good pick for this job, and, um, it’s up to the governor to decide, you know, who would be the best. Really. And I think there are many ways to serve, and I’ve loved what I’ve done so far, and I plan to continue, I think, you know, serving and advocating for the issues that I think are important. So, if it’s this, that would be wonderful, because I really do think that the relationships that I have in Washington — you know, I worked hard on the Obama campaign, I have a good relationship with many of the people that are coming in to the administration, in the Senate, others, both sides of the aisle, you know, that’s the kind of work that I’ve done outside of politics. It hasn’t been sort of a partisan kind of career that I’ve had. So I think that at this point in time, that’s what people are looking for.
New York Times: Do you think you would be the best for the job of the people who are out there?
Caroline Kennedy: Well, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I would be the best. (Laughter) Do you think you’re the best for your job? I assume you do. Uh, yeah.
New York Times: OK. I just want to be clear, because you seem to be saying it’s up to the governor to decide —
Caroline Kennedy: Well, it is up to the governor to decide, and it is up to the governor to decide what’s best for New York. You know, I think that I could advocate for New York, I think that we are losing a very visible, very strong, very powerful advocate in Hillary Clinton, and I think it’s to New York’s advantage to have somebody who can, you know, bring attention to New York, you know, bring four people from The New York Times here to the coffee shop (laughter) and really put that to work for average people. This is not, you know, about me, it’s about what I can do to, you know, help New York get its fair share, help working families, travel the state, bring attention to what is going on up there. So that’s why I think I would be good.
How many 'you knows' did you find? Did you count them? He he. For the full transcript of her New York Times interview (and more 'you knows'), check it out HERE. BTW, I found the following video clip on YouTube. It's another Caroline Kennedy interview with more of her 'you knows'.
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