28th
Caroline Kennedy (via katiebakes)
Not to get all feministy on you, but honestly, would there be this level of scrutiny of a male candidate, say, Jeb Bush’s son getting appointed to a Senate seat in Florida?
(via caro)
Don’t agree, Caro. Jeb’s son does have some awesome qualifications but I doubt he’d skate into a Senate seat. And for those crying sexism, Caroline Kennedy is crowding out several much-more-qualified women (e.g., Congresswomen Nydia Velasquez, Carolyn Maloney and Kirsten Gillebrand are all contenders). The problem is not inexperience in elective office but rather inept press relations skills, no demonstrated political aptitude and no record of leadership other than several books on legal topics and raising a few grand for the NYC schools from her socialite friends.
(via peterfeld)
Well put. In the end, this story doesn’t show up on my radar of what’s important in this day and age, so I don’t have a horse in how this turns out. But I think Julian Sanchez offered some of the best criticism I’ve seen of her. The issue isn’t her lack of political experience (that’s arguably a plus, since people who spend their lives in the public sector are to be regarded with deep suspicious at the very least) but the fact with all her gifts and advantages, she’s done nothing of note.
Rather, it’s that Kennedy doesn’t seem to have done much at all with the massive wealth and privilege she was born into. She’s licensed to practice law, but I haven’t seen reference to any significant legal work she’s done. People cite her work as a fundraiser, which again seems to come down to being a Kennedy and having wealthy friends. That leaves her work as an “author”—which aside from slapping her name on a few edited collection of Kennediania appears to consist of two semi-serious legal books she co-authored. I’ve read one of the two, The Right to Privacy, mostly because I read any book I can get my hands on with “privacy” in the title. It’s been a while, but my recollection is that it was pretty damn mediocre. It’s not bad if you want a quick, readable layman’s intro to privacy jurisprudence, but I don’t think I’ve ever recommended it to anyone. There’s nothing there to make you think she’s an unusually deep thinker on these issues. If that’s what you’re looking for, I hear Nadine Strossen’s free.
