Caroline Kennedy

Should New York's Governor David Paterson appoint Caroline Kennedy to complete Hillary Clinton's term in the Senate?

I may be projecting here, but I guess most people my age feel a special kindness towards Caroline. We remember her in the White House and at her father's funeral. In her deportment she reminds us of her mother, Jacqueline. And unlike many Kennedys, she has managed to live her life without public scandal. There's a nostalgic side of us that would be delighted to see Caroline become a U.S. Senator.

But then there's the other side. Her main public activity has been money-raising for worthy causes, principally New York public schools. She's a board member of this and that, an honorary board member of that and this, and -- as Wikipedia puts it --

has represented her family at the funeral services of former Presidents Ronald Reagan in 2004 and Gerald Ford in 2007, and at the funeral service of former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 2007. She also represented her family at the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas in November 2004.

These are not things to be scoffed at, but is there any reason she is being seriously considered for this position other than her family name? Of course not. And family names just aren't how we should do things.

Steve Clemons at The Washington Note has what I think is a better idea: make her an ambassador. Specifically: appoint her to the Court of St. James. Steve's reasoning is here.