'Camelot Must be Gaelic for Chutzpah'

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is on a full-court media press today, deigning to sit down with the ink-stained schlubs from the New York Post and New York Times. Two items of note from her Post interview jump off the page.

* She opposes the death penalty, even in cases of cop killers.

* She voted for Democrat Fernando Ferrer over Bloomberg in the 2005 mayoral race.

Right there her judgment must be questioned. Fernando Ferrer? Oh, and I'll go out on a limb and suggest even most Democrats would support the death penalty for cop killers. The rest of her Post interview consisted of the usual softballs and what's on her iPod.

Yawn.

With the Times, however, she really gets testy. Not a good way to win over the core audience for the Old Gray Lady. This part really stands out:

With several weeks to go before Mr. Paterson makes his decision, she is doling out glimpses of her political beliefs and private life. But when asked Saturday morning to describe the moment she decided to seek the Senate seat, Ms. Kennedy seemed irritated by the question and said she couldn’t recall.

“Have you guys ever thought about writing for, like, a woman’s magazine or something?” she asked the reporters. “I thought you were the crack political team.”

Not a good way to curry favor.

Meanwhile, Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin suggests it's time to Say Goodnight, Caroline.

Some top Democrats were certain Gov. Paterson, a close-to-the vest electorate of one, would find Kennedy irresistible now and as a running mate in two years. All others were chopped liver next to her sudden star power.

But a strange thing is happening on the way to the coronation. The wheels of the bandwagon are coming off. Fantasy is giving way to inescapable truth.

That truth is that Kennedy is not ready for the job and doesn't deserve it. Somebody who loves her should tell her.

Her quest is becoming a cringe-inducing experience, as painful to watch as it must be to endure. Because she is the only survivor of that dreamy time nearly 50 years ago, she remains an iconic figure. But in the last few days, her mini-campaign has proved she has little to offer New Yorkers except her name.

Her handlers and family enablers insist she feels no entitlement to the Senate job, yet there is no other possible reason to give it to her. Her name is the sole reason she even dares go for it. Camelot must be Gaelic for chutzpah.

New York can do better.

Ouch.

Even the one job she had in public life has come into question. Apparently on the basis of a chance meeting with New York's schools chancellor at a party on Martha's Vineyard, she signed on as a part-time fund-raiser. How much she raised and how much she worked have been challenged, but no matter. The point is that this self-described advocate for the public schools did not send her children to them.

Enough.

Limousine liberals are a dime a dozen, and carpetbaggers are nothing new in New York. And with the social scene constantly churning out the old for the next new thing, there's no reason middle-aged dilettantes can't also try their hand at politics.

They just can't start in the Senate.

Does anyone dare tell her this?

Doubtful.