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Can Caroline Kennedy handle glare of political spotlight?

BY ELIZABETH MOORE | elizabeth.moore@newsday.com; Compiled by

December 14, 2008

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, JFK's only surviving child, has spent a lifetime on one podium or another, but has never sought elected office, a gap in her resume that is leading some fellow Democrats to ridicule the notion of naming her as Hillary Rodham Clinton's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

But others say the Manhattan attorney, author and head of the Kennedy Library Foundation may hold even more valuable qualifications as the keeper all these years of the Camelot flame.

Through the decades, as male kin made headlines about drug use and scandals involving women and alcohol, Caroline was quietly attending Harvard University, raising a family, and leading educational reform projects and charitable endeavors that exemplified that Democratic dynasty's creed of public service as the highest calling.

"Any time a Kennedy is on the list, they're always at the top of the list," said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli last week, calling her "an outstanding choice" for the Senate.

But the idea has stirred resentment in career political circles, and little enthusiasm among Clinton loyalists stung when Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama for president this year.

"She [Kennedy] has not made the case that her record matches the other prospects," said Democratic national committeeman Robert Zimmerman of Great Neck, a top Clinton fundraiser.

Born in Washington [CORRECTION: A story Sunday misstated the birthplace of Caroline Kennedy. She spent her earliest years in Washington, D.C., but was born in Manhattan. (A17 ALL 12/16/2008)] and raised on New York's Fifth Avenue after the assassination of her father, President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy's upbringing combined extraordinary tragedy and unique privilege, in a clan for whom the Democratic National Convention functions more or less as a family reunion.

Praises public service

She christened an aircraft carrier in her father's name at age 9 and narrowly missed being killed by an IRA bomb while studying art at Sotheby's in 1975. Neil Diamond named a hit song after her. She is the guardian of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' secret memoirs, to be opened 50 years after her death. Since 1990, she has presented annual Profiles in Courage Awards named after her father's best-selling book.

While Kennedy, 51, has not commented publicly about whether she will seek the Clinton seat, she said this about public service in discussing the awards last year on CBS:

"People tend to ... write off politics. ... But really, at all levels of government, there are extraordinary people. ... And I think for me it means so much to know that that's true, and that the career, and the vision that my father set forth is very alive today."

Admitted to the bar in New York and Washington, Kennedy has authored or co-authored several books, ranging from a 1997 work on privacy rights to inspirational volumes on patriotism and, most recently, "A Family Christmas," an anthology of holiday readings.

Kennedy's most significant personal achievement may be her part in the movement to reform and upgrade New York City's public schools. She served two years as chief executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, raising more than $65 million in private funds for city schools. She is vice chair of the Fund for Public Schools and on the board of New Visions for Public Schools, a longtime school-reform nonprofit.

Backed Obama over Clinton

Kennedy campaigned with her "Uncle Teddy" to elect Hillary Clinton to the Senate. But it was Obama, not Clinton, who got her endorsement at a critical moment this year, in words that not so subtly slighted Bill Clinton as well.

"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them," she wrote in a New York Times op-ed in January. "But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president."

Clinton allies - and those of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is divorced from one of Kennedy's cousins - were blunt last week in airing their doubts on Kennedy's fitness for the office. It's a debate that is fast becoming a proxy for the larger turf battles within the Obama-era Democratic Party.

"She would be a good choice - and there are a number of good choices," former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch said in an interview, mentioning Cuomo's name in the next breath and suggesting Obama might prefer Kennedy in his cabinet.

"Camelot, schmamelot," was how consultant Hank Sheinkopf put it. "This is not a business for nice people - this is a business for warriors."

CROWDED FIELD