Caroline Kennedy? No, Bill Clinton

by Mark Silva

Will the new senator from New York, Sen. Clinton, please rise to take the oath of office?

Bill Clinton, that is.

Caretaker, for the seat of his wife, the former first lady, Hillary Clinton, leaving the Senate to become secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama.

That's one of the scenarios floating in New York, where Gov. David Paterson is presented with a difficult choice in the appointment of a successor to Hillary Clinton. So much attention has focused lately on Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, for the appointment that the governor is said to be growing weary.

Some caretaker agreeing to serve only the remainder of Clinton's term, someone such as the former president, say, or former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo "could have an immediate impact for New York in the Senate while letting the large field of hopefuls duke it out in 2010,'' according to three Democratic Party advisers close to the discussion with Paterson's inner circle on this issue, as cited by the Associated Press.

(Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) appeared with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, during an October campaign rally in Scranton, Pa. (AP Photo by Jimmy Ma)

"Two others in the party confirmed that Paterson is still considering the caretaker option,'' the AP's Michael Gormley reports.

"You could find a very senior person who could serve New York well" on an interim basis, said Gerald Benjamin, a political scientist and dean at the State University of New York at New Paltz. "Then you can say to Caroline Kennedy, `You know, you'd make a good senator. Run for it.' And you can tell everyone else that it's a level playing field."

"Paterson has made it clear in recent days that he's getting annoyed by the constant jockeying by supporters of high-powered hopefuls including Kennedy, half a dozen members of Congress and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the former governor. The candidates -- especially Kennedy -- have made daily headlines as Paterson tries to focus on a fiscal crisis of historic proportions, his first budget proposal and preparations for his first full legislative session as governor....

"The caretaker option was exercised last month by Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who picked a former aide to Vice President-elect Joe Biden to succeed him in the Senate until a new senator is elected in 2010,'' AP's Gormley notes. "By then, Biden's son, state Attorney General Beau Biden, will have returned from a tour in Iraq with the National Guard -- just in time to run for his father's seat.''