WASHINGTON – Caroline Kennedy — daughter of a slain president, niece of senators, and zealous guardian of her own privacy — is interested in the Senate seat once held by her uncle, her cousin says.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he and the rest of the powerful Kennedy clan are urging Caroline to seek the New York governor's appointment to the Senate seat now held by Hillary Rodham Clinton — and added she is ready and seriously considering it.
"I know she's interested," Robert Kennedy, who himself was prominently mentioned for the seat, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "She spent a lot of her life balancing public service with obligations to her family. Now her children are grown, and she is ready to move onto a bigger stage."
Once Clinton, in line to become secretary of state, is confirmed to President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet, New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint someone to fill the seat for two years.
The Kennedy family's connections and history cannot force Paterson to choose Caroline, but the family's strong support could increase pressure on him to pick her over lesser-known contenders. For Caroline Kennedy, seeking the Senate seat would be a significant departure from the life she has lived until now, protecting her family's privacy — and her own.
Robert Kennedy said his extended family would come out en masse for her if she does get the appointment and has to run for election in 2010.
"If she runs, you will see more Kennedys than you have ever seen in your life," he said.
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