“In my experience with high-profile people, the more you try to manage them, the worse it becomes,” said Neilson, a New Yorker who worked with Kennedy on education issues and supports her candidacy. “She’s not somebody who needs to be managed.”
But Lawrence O’Donnell, an ex-staffer for former seat holder Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) and producer for “The West Wing,” sees it differently.
“The media is just as rough on celebrities as it is on politicians. The reason Caroline Kennedy had a rough time is that she has not lived her life as a celebrity,” O’Donnell said. “There is a confusion about Caroline Kennedy and this notion she is a celebrity. She is famous, but she has never behaved as a celebrity.”
He also criticized the media, saying they were covering Kennedy as a celebrity and not as a serious candidate.
He noted that in all of Kennedy’s interviews “not one of them asked her what committee she wanted to be on. I think they have no idea what to ask a candidate for Senate.”
The New York Senate seat is often referred to as a “celebrity seat.” It has been held by some of the biggest names in political history, going all the way back to Martin Van Buren and Aaron Burr and including Clinton, Moynihan and Robert Kennedy, Caroline’s uncle.
The power to decide the seat’s fate lies solely with New York Gov. David Paterson (D). Besides thinking about New York’s star power, Paterson is likely considering his own needs; the senator who gets the seat would have to run for reelection in 2010, the same time Paterson is up for reelection.
Even though Kennedy was criticized for being another famous face interested in making the move to politics, her supporters pointed out her fundraising abilities (she raised millions for New York City public schools) and her close ties to President-elect Obama.
That did not immunize Kennedy from celebrity comparison.
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) compared Kennedy’s interest in the job to that of actress Jennifer Lopez.
“I don’t know what Caroline Kennedy’s qualifications are, except that she has name recognition, but so does J.Lo,” Ackerman told a New York City radio station.
But O’Donnell argues Lopez would have an easier time transitioning to politics because she lives her life in the celebrity spotlight, as opposed to Kennedy, who has kept a low profile. He also notes the media coverage of celebrities is much more intense than the coverage of politicians.
“This is not Jennifer Lopez,” O’Donnell said. “Jennifer Lopez would have an easier time in politics [than being a celebrity]. How many photographers chase Kent Conrad?”
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