NY Dem: Caroline Kennedy No More Qualified Than J.Lo To Be Senator

. . . so says New York state Rep. Gary Ackerman of Queens. Several Kennedys, including Ted Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have been lobbying Gov. Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton with Caroline Kennedy. Paterson doesn't like it. Neither does Ackerman:

"I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are."

"Except that she has name recognition, but so does J.Lo," Ackerman continued on Steve Malzberg's radio show on WOR. "I wouldn't make J.Lo the senator unless she proved she had great qualifications, but we haven't seen them yet."

Is he kidding? She's been on the cover of People Magazine! Just like Barack Obama. Hell, that made him fit to be president, so why not? We are talking Democrat standards here, not common sense standards.

Froma Harrop is having none of it either, declaring that A Senate Seat Is Not a Kennedy Heirloom:

Women's groups have been eager to see Clinton replaced by another female. The Feminist Majority and the National Organization for Women had already endorsed Carolyn Maloney, a congresswoman who has represented parts of Manhattan and Queens for 15 years.

But if Caroline Kennedy wants the job, all bets are off, according to Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal. "You're talking to someone who thinks Ted Kennedy is the most effective senator there," Smeal actually told The New York Times.

Here you have it. Without a second thought, feminists talk of throwing a seasoned, self-made professional overboard to make room for a Kennedy princess.

Uncle Ted has been reminding Democrats that Caroline would be backed by -- as the Times straightforwardly put it -- "the Kennedy family's extensive fundraising network." That's nice, but this is New York state, where electing a Democrat requires no miracle.

At least the senate seat isn't being auctioned off like an heirloom.