Spanning the Web: Kennedy Debacle Edition
Caroline Kennedy’s been out of contention for Hilary Clinton’s Senate seat for fewer than 12 hours and there’s already as many rumors as JFK conspiracy theories (Ed: too soon.) For your amusement and edification Boston Daily delves into the blogosphere to see what’s circulating out there.
For a more detailed background on the implosion, read Karen Tumulty’s minute by minute breakdown of the campaign’s own breakdown last night. But basically The New York Post declares Kennedy out of the race around 7 p.m. last night. Apparently, this was news to Kennedy’s people. Then, a few hours later, the AP declared her still in. Around midnight, Kennedy finally issues a statement bowing out “for personal reasons,” citing concerns about the health of her uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.
So what really happened to make Caroline take her hat out of the ring?
The New York Post story that started the mess reports, “Sources close to Kennedy said she had decided to bow out for ‘personal reasons.’ But others said she made her move after it became clear Paterson wasn’t going to pick her for the seat.
“Several sources said the governor, who has sole power to replace Clinton, was unimpressed with the daughter of John F. Kennedy in media interviews and in private sessions with various officials.”
Wait, so was Paterson the one that forced her hand?
The Queen of all Media Perez Hilton explains, “The main theory floating around is that Gov. Patterson informed Kennedy that she wasn’t going to get the appointment and offered her the opportunity to remove herself from the race as a way of bowing out gracefully.”
Maybe, but if so, why did she remove herself in such an utterly graceless fashion?
Politicker’s Jason Horowitz: “Among the insiders I talked to, they [the theories] included the following: Paterson forced Kennedy’s hand by leaking a false report to the Post that froze her and her consulting firm (and, apparently, his own staff); others speculated that something uncomfortable had been discovered about Kennedy’s personal life that was about to be exposed, prompting her to withdraw under duress.”
Wait, so Paterson might have leaked a report to the Post to force Kennedy out? Awfully diabolical, even by New York standards.
The American Prospect’s blog is just confused. “At first, it seemed that the decision to pull out was simply a way for her to avoid the embarrassment of not getting picked for the seat. But if that had been the strategy, wouldn’t her camp have stuck with it, instead of spiraling out of control? The other option suggested — that Paterson leaked Kennedy’s demurral without her knowledge to force her out — is a crazy bit of political jujitsu that certainly appears to be effective.”
Blogger Ed Morrissey of Hot Air writes, “Actually, the trigger may have been Paterson’s statement Tuesday that Andrew Cuomo was under consideration for the slot. The specter of losing after making such a public bid for Hillary Clinton’s seat may have been too much for the Kennedy mystique, or at least the Kennedy ego.”
If we know nothing else, at least it’s clear that Sarah Palin’s guess that the media would treat Caroline Kennedy with kid gloves was completely off-base. Both bloggers and the media elites can flog a Kennedy just as easily as they did a moose hunter from Wasilla.
