New York Governor David Patterson has selected Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. I suggested early on in the process that New York’s large Demcratic congressional delegation might be the best source of a qualified Senator. In retrospect, I probably overrated that delegation, but in the end that’s where Patterson turned.
Gillibrand has only been in Congress since 2006, when she won an upstate seat the Republicans had held for years. She has not been a 100 percent, down-the-line liberal Democrat, having voted against the financial bailout last fall and having picked up the endorsement of the National Rifle Association.
As a state-wide office holder, Gillibrand may fall more reliably into line with her left-liberal party. Still, she seems preferable to Andrew Cuomo and Caroline Kennedy.
As to the latter, the less said about her quest to be appointed to the Senate, the better. That quest has tarnished what was an excellent image, and exposed her to rumor and innuendo about her taxes, her nanny, and even her marriage.
Let’s hope that folks will drop the subject now that it is no longer relevant. There’s no reason to think that Kennedy is other than a decent, reasonably talented individual who, in an exhilarating year, simply got stars in her eyes.
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