Governor David Paterson's prolonged and intensely public process of deciding whom to appoint to the U.S. Senate did not put the candidates in the best light, but Caroline Kennedy's difficulty in answering questions about public policies to the satisfaction of critics in the news media and elsewhere does not take away from the incisive and probing intellect she has demonstrated in writings, speeches, and her assignments with Barack Obmama, Michael Bloomberg, and various Kennedy family organizations.
Some people like having questions thrown at them. I remember attending an early fundraiser for John Edwards before he had decided to be a 2004 Presidential candidate in which he pleaded with attendees to ask him questions. I also remember an early 1984 dialogue with Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode and fellow Pennsylvania legislators, in which I hesitated to ask him a question because of an issue's complexity and obscurity, and he pushed me to frame my concerns as a question for him to answer.
Being asked questions has often been an honor carrying the implication that one knows a great deal and one's opinion is worthy of respect. When he was Republican Minority Leader of the House in the 1980's and 1990's, Matthew Ryan, later House Speaker on Newt Gingrich's coattails and some backroom dealing, used to make speeches that were reminiscent of legal trials and law school classrooms. He would raise every legal issue he could think of, and he would call on legislators present to answer his questions about the legal issues he raised. I was pleased to be among those whom he respected enough to ask.
But, in more recent times, more and more questions are asked for the purpose of embarrassing the person asked. Today, more than ever before,the art of political and governmental communication includes knowing when to decline comment and when to avoid forums that will be dominated by hostile questions. One who is expert on the practices of earlier times often cannot realize how much the rules and common practices of public dialogue have changed over the years without being directly involved on the firing line.
Caroline Kennedy's immersion in the greatest traditions of the 20th Century Democratic Party led her to underestimate the ferocity of much of today's journalism and the public evaluations of it. She was unprepared for the reality that a good number of the questions she was receiving were for the purpose of embarrassing her.
Nevertheless, her unsuccessful bid to be appointed to the U.S. Senate, where her father and two uncles served with great distinction, does not take away from who she is and what she knows. Her writings on constitutional law and political heroism show both a detailed knowledge of American history and American constitutional law.
I would be very comfortable with Caroline Kennedy on any federal court, from the district courts to the courts of appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. I think it would be nice to have a Justice Kennedy whose views epitomize the views of the Kennedy wing of the Democratic Party.
Right now, President Obama has many slots to fill in the U.S. Justice Department,including the office of the Solicitor General. The Solicitor General is the advocate for the position of the U.S. Goverment before all federal courts.
The positions of the Solicitor General should be far different in the Obama Administration than they were in the Bush Administration. I remember being embarrassed as an American citizen by the poor quality of the Solicitor General's briefs in opposition to the continuation of affirmative action when I was preparing an amicus brief in support of affirmative action for many Pennsylvania legislators and others.
Caroline Kennedy belongs in the Solicitor General's office now. I do not know what position she should hold there, or how long she should stay there, but I am confident that her tenure there in a responsible position will safeguard American constitutional rights and perhaps be steppingstone for her to greater service elsewhere.
The Democratic Party has many more talented and dedicated men and women than there are slots in government for. Caroline Kennedy is one those who belongs in a responsible policy making post. It's not a matter of "gotcha." It's a matter of making our beloved country as great as it should be.