Kennedy says 9/11, Obama led her to public service – AP (12/26/08)

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.
She said two events shaped her decision to ask Gov. David Paterson 11 days ago to consider her for the position if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and her work for Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign.

I’ve watched as a lot of bloggers have been complaining about giving Kennedy this seat. I agree with many of their arguments (no electoral experience, dynasty, etc) but I couldn’t get that worked up over it because as long as idiots like Blanche Lincoln and others are part of the Senate Democratic caucus, I have bigger fish to fry. But invoking 9/11 is a dealbreaker. 9/11 was seven years ago. There have been four Congressional elections since then, and Kennedy didn’t run in any of them.

She’s getting dangerously close to this:

I guess we’re lucky she didn’t start chanting “si se puede” and pronouncing herself “the change we have been waiting for,” but I think we can do better.