Caroline, we hardly knew ye!
Jan. 28th, 2009 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceebeegeeThere's an interesting article in this week's New York Magazine about Caroline Kennedy's quest for the appointment to Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat. I have to say, the article has made me lose respect for Governor Paterson. Apparently he just loooooved being the center of attention during the whole thing and was deliberately stoking the drama to make himself appear more...uh, executive, I guess. This struck me:
Keeping the speculation alive meant Paterson stayed in the spotlight, a golden gift for a man who hates being characterized as an “accidental governor” and a man who needs to run for the office, for the first time, next year. Often in Washington Paterson seemed simply to be ecstatic that his games with the media were keeping the attention so focused on him.
The "accidental Governor"? Johnson was the "Accidental President" and he accomplished more that Kennedy did! In fact Johnson was arguably one of the most important Presidents of the 20th century, because of his pushing of the Civil Rights Acts. Succeeding to office is a long and time-honored tradition. What matters is what you do when you get there.
This also gives me pause:
Yet Paterson wants to do more than cut the tension; he wants desperately, even more than most politicians, to be liked. Almost as much as he wants to be taken seriously.
...
"...Look at how he travels: At the Democratic convention in Denver, you’d see Jon Corzine and he’d have two people with him. You’d see David Paterson and he’d have 60 people with him.”
Look, I can appreciate his baggage with his disability but the last thing I want in a politician is a "desperate need to be liked." A politician should try to straddle the line between 1) the natural (not desperate) need to be liked, because it helps you play well with others (important in politics), and 2) the need to be a leader, and be your own person. And the way to be taken seriously is to take yourself seriously. Show that you are a force with which to be reckoned through your actions. Don't surround yourself with machinations and drama and an entourage. That just seems silly, and sort of pathetic.
After a brief appearance on CNN’s American Morning, the governor had settled into the back seat of his car to rest before an interview with Capital News 9, an Albany-based cable channel. Then, without warning, his aides scrambled, leaving dust and baffled reporters in their wake.
Later, word was passed that the governor had a serious headache. Later still, Paterson claimed to have eaten some bad sushi the night before. “Right,” says a reporter who covers the state capital. “It’s just more drama from Paterson.”
“Welcome to the world of David,” says an elected official who has known Paterson for years.
Oy.
I will say, Gillibrand seems pretty cool. I thought Caroline Kennedy was an interesting choice at first--she certainly does have cred with the new President, one consideration--but after the Blago debacle, and her interview plus her voting history, it's clear she wouldn't have worked on many levels.
Keeping the speculation alive meant Paterson stayed in the spotlight, a golden gift for a man who hates being characterized as an “accidental governor” and a man who needs to run for the office, for the first time, next year. Often in Washington Paterson seemed simply to be ecstatic that his games with the media were keeping the attention so focused on him.
The "accidental Governor"? Johnson was the "Accidental President" and he accomplished more that Kennedy did! In fact Johnson was arguably one of the most important Presidents of the 20th century, because of his pushing of the Civil Rights Acts. Succeeding to office is a long and time-honored tradition. What matters is what you do when you get there.
This also gives me pause:
Yet Paterson wants to do more than cut the tension; he wants desperately, even more than most politicians, to be liked. Almost as much as he wants to be taken seriously.
...
"...Look at how he travels: At the Democratic convention in Denver, you’d see Jon Corzine and he’d have two people with him. You’d see David Paterson and he’d have 60 people with him.”
Look, I can appreciate his baggage with his disability but the last thing I want in a politician is a "desperate need to be liked." A politician should try to straddle the line between 1) the natural (not desperate) need to be liked, because it helps you play well with others (important in politics), and 2) the need to be a leader, and be your own person. And the way to be taken seriously is to take yourself seriously. Show that you are a force with which to be reckoned through your actions. Don't surround yourself with machinations and drama and an entourage. That just seems silly, and sort of pathetic.
After a brief appearance on CNN’s American Morning, the governor had settled into the back seat of his car to rest before an interview with Capital News 9, an Albany-based cable channel. Then, without warning, his aides scrambled, leaving dust and baffled reporters in their wake.
Later, word was passed that the governor had a serious headache. Later still, Paterson claimed to have eaten some bad sushi the night before. “Right,” says a reporter who covers the state capital. “It’s just more drama from Paterson.”
“Welcome to the world of David,” says an elected official who has known Paterson for years.
Oy.
I will say, Gillibrand seems pretty cool. I thought Caroline Kennedy was an interesting choice at first--she certainly does have cred with the new President, one consideration--but after the Blago debacle, and her interview plus her voting history, it's clear she wouldn't have worked on many levels.
