Saturday, January 26, 2008

Re: Caroline Kennedy   [Mark Steyn]

Actually, Mark, Obama is Kennedyesque in one respect: on the stump with supporters (in my experience), he's cool and a little remote and detached - and, like JFK pre-death, oddly unknowable. Maybe it's just in comparison with that oozing phony Edwards touting the same old mawkish driveling anecdotage from town to town.

Anyway, I don't suppose that's what Miss Kennedy means. All she's saying is that a big chunk of the country (and not all of them Democrats) want someone new, young and glamorous - and, if he's a member of an approved minority group, so much the better. He'd be tough for any Republican candidate, but, if Michael Graham's right, the Clinton machine will take care of the problem. Still, I'd be wary: With Obama in the Veep slot, there'd be enormous pressure to elect, accompanied by endless media stories about whether Americans were "finally mature enough" to vote for a female/African-American ticket.

PS You're right, Mark, about Bill not being a big vote-getter for others. The Dems should have learned that lesson in 2002, where you could more or less correlate their Senate defeats with Clinton's final month of appearances.

01/26 10:23 PMShare