Between the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal this morning, I now realize that there are a lot of people who are totally clueless about upstate New York politics, God bless 'em.
Join me over the fold (and watch your step, because it is very snowy here):
The New York Times article is interesting for a lot of reasons, as it tries to analyze the potential Kennedy appointment:
"I’ve heard this a hundred times: ‘He has to pick her,’ " said Erick C. Mullen, a Democratic political consultant who has worked extensively in New York. "Or what? If he doesn’t pick her, what happens?"
That question has not yet received much of an airing during Ms. Kennedy’s audition for the Senate. Not unlike an overleveraged but venerable investment house, Ms. Kennedy is considered by many to be too big to fail.
But after her recent tour of upstate New York and a round of media interviews, it is not hard to find people who, like Mr. Mullen, ask how much, exactly, Mr. Paterson might risk should he not pick Ms. Kennedy.
So far, so good. So let's take a look at what Paterson's political risks are. First, the author considers whether Obama would REALLY punish New York if Paterson appointed someone else. The short answer to that is I don't think he would, and nobody else does, either. We are in dire straits.
And here is what David Paterson is REALLY thinking about, folks:
What is foremost on Mr. Paterson’s mind, some say, is how his Senate appointment will affect the 2010 campaign. Given an array of qualified candidates, they say, Mr. Paterson will focus on who can hold onto the seat and whose presence on the ticket would most help him.
And after some boilerplate patter about how the media rollout on Caroline Kennedy has had a few bumps, we get to the true considerations: money and ticket balance (Paterson has to run in 2010; Andrew Cuomo, our Attorney General, has to run in 2010, and the Senate appointee has to run in 2010).
And as to "ticket balance", the Times sez:
Some of Mr. Paterson’s advisers envision a Republican ticket headed by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, for governor, with Joanne M. Mahoney, the popular Onondaga County executive, as his running mate. Rounding out the ticket might be John J. Faso, the former assemblyman, for comptroller, and Peter T. King, the Long Island Republican, for Senate.
"That’s a white Catholic ticket," said one person who has ties to the governor’s political team, and who requested anonymity for fear of losing those ties. "And it’s white Catholics upstate they are going to lose."
Whole article is here.
I started giggling then, because "Joanne M. Mahoney" is my County Executive, and the only person I know who calls Joanie Mahoney by that name is the priest who baptized her. On the BALLOT, she appeared as Joanie Mahoney. So you have to forgive me if I'm wondering about THAT analysis, because the author has obviously not spent a lot of time in my city.
And then onto Peggy Noonan, featured in the WSJ this AM. Now, some people think Caroline's problem is that she's not "Triborough" enough (and yes, I have lived in Manhattan). Not Peggy! Peggy thinks Caroline's problem is that she doesn't radiate the aura of a princess.
Here's Peggy's take:
But life is complicated. If you're going to run as the princess of a dynasty, you have to act and be like a princess—something different, rarefied, heightened. Her problem in part has been that she spent a quarter-century trying to blend in and not call attention to herself. She made herself convincingly average—not distinguished. She has her parents' dignity but not their dash. She radiates a certain clueless class.
You can read THAT silly article here.
She prattles on about Hillary, who succeeded, apparently, because she went to a stylist. So Caroline's whole problem is that she isn't going to a stylist? Who knew?
Now, here's the thing - yes, I do have a lot of fun when I read articles by people who have, in all likelihood, never set foot in my fair city (Syracuse, NY). We are the fourth snowiest city in the United States, and we win the Golden Snowball nearly every year (over Buffalo, our major competitor for New York winter misery/delight), so I understand why we are not a major tourist attraction. But having been in local politics for most of my life (which also meant I learned about state politics), reading "political analysis" from people who have never been here always amuses me. I DO know what works in Onondaga County and in Central New York. Joanie Mahoney became our County Executive because she ran a smart campaign and she worked hard. She beat another Republican in the primary, and she beat a well-respected Assemblyman in the general. I happen to think Caroline Kennedy would do the same. So, these analyses amuse me.
But, then again, my Daddy always told me I am easily amused!