My one, you know, thought about Caroline Kennedy

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Monday, December 29, 2008 - 9:21 PM Share

This blog has been silent about Caroline Kennedy's shadow campaign for a Senate appointment, mostly because he was convinced that this was just some effort by karma to tap dance on those partisans who took too much glee mocking the qualifications of Sarah Palin. As someone who thought Palin was unqualified for VP-dom and thinks Kennedy is unqualified for the Senate, I nevertheless feel a massive twinge of sympathy for Caroline Kennedy after her New York Times interview. Several media outlets are mocking her verbal tic of saying "you know" a lot in that interview. Longtime watchers of my bloggingheads and other media appearances are well aware that I've owned that tic for several years now. That's my thing. That I do. When I'm formulating what I am about to say. When a live mic is close by. Anything Kennedy can do to make it acceptable to the mainstream would be good for my media whoredom, and therefore a Manifestly Good Thing for the Republic.

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W. COIL

2:35 AM ET

December 30, 2008

I don't understand the case

I don't understand the case against Caroline Kennedy. The list of windbags, hacks, bigots, and privileged fraternity boys who have served in the U.S. Senate is long and undistinguished.

What, precisely, are the special talents for serving in the U.S. Senate and how could Kennedy fail to meet the low entrance requirements?

PHIL K

3:17 AM ET

December 30, 2008

Your "y'knows" are nothing

Your "y'knows" are nothing compared to Henry Farrell's "sort ofs." he's got it down to one-syllable and can rapid-fire strafe whole sentences with it (I think i've even heard him break up compound nouns with a "sort of")

LAMONT CRANSTON

3:26 AM ET

December 30, 2008

I'm no supporter of

I'm no supporter of Kennedy--agree with the Palin comparison--but I think the Times did a hatchet job on her with this transcript. Nobody transcribes verbal tics like that in a standard interview; they just wanted to make her look stupid and unprepared. low blow, frankly.

TUG

3:56 AM ET

December 30, 2008

You know, I think we should

You know, I think we should just go with Tina Fey.

US GRANT

1:01 PM ET

December 30, 2008

The Emperor should dissolve

The Emperor should dissolve the senate immediately...

KLUG

10:01 PM ET

December 30, 2008

Between the super-wrinkly

Between the super-wrinkly photo (with the article) and the word-for-word transcript, this thing was a hatchet job, pure and simple. Worse, there doesn't seem to be any distorting, just no friendly editing.

Y81

6:11 PM ET

December 31, 2008

I think the New York Times

I think the New York Times editors used to clean up transcripts, but then they decided to print Sarah Palin verbatim, and now they're stuck with it. It probably never occurred to the editors that the people they agree with are not, in fact, more articulate or more intelligent than the people they despise, they just sound that way, until you see the words in print.

DAVID NIEPORENT

3:23 AM ET

January 2, 2009

I don’t understand the case

I don’t understand the case against Caroline Kennedy. The list of windbags, hacks, bigots, and privileged fraternity boys who have served in the U.S. Senate is long and undistinguished.

The difference is that all of those people were elected. Whatever someone's qualifications, that's an issue for the voters. And if they choose someone with no real credentials, that's on them. But Kennedy is seeking to be appointed without having even to bother facing the voters.

SAVE_THE_RUSTBELT

4:25 AM ET

January 2, 2009

Annual dues and meals at a

Annual dues and meals at a Toastmasters Club run maybe $200 - $300 a year. Basically, like, you know, speaking the English language coherently is important.

I say appoint Kennedy if for no other reason that to block Cuomo, who appears to me to be an arrogant attack weasel.

And I'm with W Coil, how could she not be qualified?