An Inconvenient Debate: Caroline Kennedy and the American Dream

Who says we have no royalty in America?

I’ve waited to weigh in on Caroline Kennedy’s come-lately bid for political office because I’m fascinated by the competing arguments. I almost don’t want them to end in the decision about who’ll fill Hillary Clinton’s seat as the junior senator from New York, once she’s confirmed as secretary of state. But decide Governor David Paterson must.

So what are the narratives of his choice?

It is a charming story to imagine Caroline as the first woman to wield the leadership scepter of the Kennedy clan, which is the closest thing to royalty America has, our de facto royal family. (Unless of course you are a Republican who regards the Bushes as holding that mantle, but right now it’s our turn.) And New Yorkers so love celebrity that you could almost feel the “whoosh” of heads snapping around at first mentions of the possibility that she might represent them in Washington. Think of the assets she brings. Immediate media attention! Immediate invitations to the best DC parties! And of course, immediate tugs at our heartstrings when we see the great liberal lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, struggling with brain cancer, working the phones on his neice’s behalf. For as kings will do, he confers upon his chosen successor the mantle of his legacy.

While Caroline clearly has been tested by personal tragedy and possesses her mother’s gentility, and though she has used her famous name effectively to raise money for New York City public schools, she has demonstrated by her life out of the spotlight, her failure even to vote in a number of elections, and her comments about her political ambitions or the lack of them previously that she has neither the appetite nor the intestinal fortitude for the meat grinder of politics. (See a touching slideshow of her life here.) I suspect she would make an unimpressive senator–a Democratic Elizabeth Dole, who could easily get elected on her name identity but couldn’t or wouldn’t get a darn thing done once in the Washington swamp.

INTENTIONING

Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women
Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good

The new book from Gloria Feldt about the future, taking the leadership lessons learned from this disruption and creating a better world for all through the power of intention.

Buy Now

On the other hand, leadership guru Anne Doyle–who originally agreed with my assessment–made a compelling argument that we might just be looking at Caroline’s qualifications through a male-dominated cultural lens:

Once I finished venting, though, I started thinking: “But Anne, what about that point you’re making in the book you’re writing on women’s leadership? You know, the one about how our American culture devalues women’s work?”

We routinely recognize men’s military and sports experience as valuable credentials directly transferable to leadership. Many a man has leveraged both on his way to political office. Yet, we place little value (other than Hallmark cards and profuse ‘thank yous’) on the essential work of parenting, the lion’s share of which is done by women.The same goes for the millions of hours of unpaid volunteer work for hundreds of thousands of non-profit boards and community organizations. We have barely begun to value the skills women hone in those arenas…By the time I finished thinking all of this through, I ended up viewingKennedy’s decision as one of leadership rather than entitlement. The rhythms of women’s lives are very different from those of men. I can’t think of anyone more perfectly positioned to show America’s women achievers that there is more than one path — and timetable — to leadership.

Paterson is said to be annoyed by the pressure being applied to appoint (or anoint) Kennedy as Senator. And his choice is constrained in some ways from the get go. He’d better not even think about appointing a man to fill the state’s first female-held New York Senate seat, especially in a year when women held the key to electing Barack Obama. And his choice is going to be scrutinized for her experience and ability to marshal important constituencies despite the tilt toward celebrity.

When Hillary Clinton decided to run, it was fair to say she had carpetbagged to New York. But nobody could say she didn’t have the cojones for a bruising race and an even more bruising Senate service. And indeed she ran for the seat; she wasn’t appointed to it.

At the time, it seemed terribly unfair that Cong. Nita Lowey stepped aside in favor of Clinton’s candidacy. Today, there are so many women in New York’s congressional delegation who could ably step into the Senate seat and who have earned their stripes to do so. All of them know the issues and have a record to stand on. We hare just beginning to learn Kennedy’s positions on important policies such as reproductive rights, economic recovery, and health care. Perhaps she is just beginning to figure them out herself.

Lowey remains a key player in the House; however, she and NY’s other long-time, high profile Congresswoman, Louise Slaughter–who has endorsed Kennedy–are in their 70’s, arguably with too few years left to cement New York’s power in the Senate.

Cong. Carolyn Maloney tops my list of candidates. She has demonstrated a high level of initiative in advancing progressive policies, even when the Democrats’ minority position meant slim chances of passage. That kind of proactive approach will be needed in the days to come. She’s been endorsed by major women’s organizations such as NOW and the Feminist Majority, and Paterson is feeling their grassroots pressure to countervail Teddy’s. And Ted Kennedy doesn’t vote in New York.

In the end, I am convinced we shouldn’t let our tenderness for Ted or our affection for the Kennedys as American royalty trump the other qualifications in picking the best senator for New York. And I’d rather tell the American dream narrative that any girl can grow up to be a senator–you don’t have to be “royalty” to have a chance.

There’s no question that Caroline Kennedy would make a top notch diplomat, as ambassador to almost anywhere. And perhaps this princess can best serve the country by representing it to her peers in another land.

Gloria Feldt

GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”

As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.