By no means am I a Caroline Kennedy partisan. I will lose no sleep if she is not appointed to the Senate. Nonetheless I’m a bit mystified at the heated opposition her “candidacy” has generated in certain corners of the blogosphere, particularly at Firedoglake. In the latest piece on the subject, “Eli” argues that a potential Senator needs some minor league seasoning before hitting the big time:
The record shows that making the jump to the big leagues without any experience is not a recipe for prolonged success. Mike Morgan,the only one of those four players who sustained any kind of career, did spend two years in the minors after a terrible start. There is value to seasoning and experience, especially when it comes to high-pressure jobs like United States Senator or, yes, major-league pitcher.
In truth and in fact, plenty of people have made perfectly good Senators without serving time in the minors. It really isn’t like baseball. Baseball is harder. Just ask Jim Bunning, who had to retire when he lost his fastball, but who satisfies his constituents as a Senator, despite his senility. Moreover, if memory serves, Firedoglake was a big Lamont supporter, about whom the same argument was made by Joltin’ Joe (to extend the baseball analogy) Lieberman.
I can understand the anti-dynasty argument, and I’m sympathetic to it, but it seems that the anti-Kennedyites are becoming a bit rabid on this subject.
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