Kennedy Meets with Paterson... and Gets Palin's Support?

Yesterday afternoon,Caroline Kennedy met with Governor David Paterson to discuss the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. The Daily News reports, "Until Saturday, Kennedy had only spoken by phone to Paterson," but no details about their conversation were released. A Paterson spokeswoman said, "The details of those discussions will remain private."

While Paterson has emphasized there is no front-runner (and gets irritated when it's implied there is), Kennedy's interest has garnered the most ink, given her storied family, the campaigning from Mayor Bloomberg's deputy mayor, dismal voting record, and her rough first interviews with the media. Other potential candidates who have met with Paterson, according to the NY Times, are "Representatives Steve Israel and Carolyn B. Maloney, Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell and Thomas R. Suozzi, the Nassau County executive"; it's unclear if Paterson met with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The Governor won't be making his decision until Clinton is officially confirmed as Secretary of State, but there's one governor who has made hers: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin, whose remarks wondering whether the media would treat Kennedy differently than she was treated were publicized last week, tried to clear things up and told the UPI, "I was not commenting at all on Caroline Kennedy as a prospective U.S. senator, but rather on the seemingly arbitrary ways in which news organizations determine the level and kind of scrutiny given to those who aspire to public office. In fact, I consider Ms. Kennedy qualified and experienced, and she could serve New York well." Well-played, GOP—who the hell knows what a Palin endorsement could do to Kennedy's candidacy!