Caroline Kennedy has reportedly asked to be considered for the Senate seat that Hillary Clinton will vacate to take up her post as Secretary of State in the Obama administration.
Kennedy is in no way qualified to be a senator. Which bothers me a lot, but then again, there are a lot of unqualified people in the senate. At least most of them had to convince the electorate to overlook their poor qualifications.
If Caroline Kennedy ran for office on the being-a-Kennedy platform and won, I would be deeply disappointed in the voters of the Empire State, but at least we'd have elected her. She could hold her head up high and serve with pride because her ascention would be our fault.
But appointing Kennedy would be a double whammy of non-qualification and nepotism. The only reason Kennedy's being considered is because she's the daughter of a former president and the niece of a senator.
It's sad that the following is the best argument I can think of for appointing Kennedy: Inside politics is brutaly egalitarian. Do big favors, get big favors.
Kennedy would get the senate seat as a reward for supporting Obama. She threw her political capital behind Obama when it counted, and I suppose political capital, like cash, spends the same whether it's inherited or earned.
The Democratic Party is supposed to be stand for equality, not dynasty.
Update: Speaking of incestuous relations among the power elite, a TIME bureau chief is going to become a senior aide to Joe Biden. If a campaign is willing to hire a journalist just weeks after the election, that's probably a red flag that the journalist may not have covered the campaign as well as s/he should have.
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