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Plenty of Politics on Caroline's Resume

She's never held public office, but this Kennedy is an inside operator

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 16, 2008 7:29 AM CST

(Newser) – Caroline Kennedy has never run for so much as dog catcher, and hasn’t even had a full-time job in years, so inevitably her desire to become a US senator has met with some skepticism. But Kennedy’s friends say her nonprofit work has made her a savvy inside operator with hands-on policy chops, the New York Times reports.

Kennedy has overhauled the New York public school system’s financing, helped pick Barack Obama’s VP, and convinced a Harvard panel to hire Nashville mayor Bill Purcell to head its politics institute. “She’s not shy about pushing people in a direction … in a way that people don’t even realize they’re being pushed,” said one member of that board. She also picked up campaign experience stumping for Barack Obama, which should help her explain her nontraditional qualifications.

In this May 12, 2008, file photo, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., left, and Caroline Kennedy pass each other during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
In this May 12, 2008, file photo, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., left, and Caroline Kennedy pass each other during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.   (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)
In this Sunday Feb. 3, 2008 file photo, Caroline Kennedy speaks at a Get Out The Vote event for Barack Obama at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
In this Sunday Feb. 3, 2008 file photo, Caroline Kennedy speaks at a Get Out The Vote event for Barack Obama at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Ann Johansson, File)
In this March 7, 2005, file photo, Caroline Kennedy, sits in front of an image of her late father President John F. Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
In this March 7, 2005, file photo, Caroline Kennedy, sits in front of an image of her late father President John F. Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.   (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)
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She was the one that, really, when I said something, asked, ‘Who? Why? How come?’ She did most of the talking.
- Joe Baca, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who met with Caroline and Eric Holder to help select Obama's VP.

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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Zebraone
Dec 17, 2008 6:46 AM CST
That's all this damn country needs~~~ Another carpet bagger from Mass.~~~~ let's see now, Whick one of her bratz will inheret her job?

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