Princess Caroline finally sat down and did her first interview today since announcing she wanted to be appointed to the soon-to-be-vacant New York Senate seat. And, in her AP interview [3], after being questioned about her voting record, she exclaimed that she was "shocked" at how poor it was.
No, not the kind of voting record that elected officials have (on bills, etc.), but the kind that, you know, good citizens should have. That of actually voting in elections on a regular basis.
NEW YORK (AP) - Caroline Kennedy emerged from weeks of near-silence Friday about her bid for a Senate seat by saying that after a lifetime of closely guarded privacy, she felt compelled to answer the call to service issued by her father a generation ago. ...
Since Kennedy expressed interest in the job, she has faced sometimes sharp criticism that she cut in line ahead of politicians with more experience and has acted as if she were entitled to it because of her political lineage. More than a half-dozen elected officials are vying for the seat, including New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and several members of Congress. ...
Kennedy acknowledged that her recent time in the limelight - after a relatively private life as a wife, mother of three, best-selling author and fundraiser in New York City - had not gone entirely smoothly.
But she said she had turned down interview requests and tried not to appear to be campaigning for the job because she knew that the choice rested solely with the Democratic governor.
"I was trying to respect the process. It is not a campaign," she said. "It was misinterpreted. If I were to be selected, I understand public servants have to be accessible."
Asked about criticism from other politicians and members of the public that she seems to regard herself as entitled to the job as a member of America's most storied political dynasty, she said: "Everybody that knows me knows I haven't really lived that way. ... Nobody's entitled to anything, certainly not me." ...
She also was asked to explain why she failed to vote in a number of elections since registering in New York City in 1988, including in 1994 when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was up for re-election for the seat she hopes to take over.
"I was really surprised and dismayed by my voting record," she said. "I'm glad it's been brought to my attention."
"I'm glad it's been brough to my attention." Well.
I'm sorry, but if you're not a good enough citizen to vote when the polls are open, not to mention being an intelligent enough (or honest enough) person to know whether or not you did, then you have no place in the United States Senate.
Even the folks over at the Huffington Post [4] seem a little divided over her qualifications and/or entitlement.
