Donaldson on Kennedy: 'Let's Give Her a Chance'

Dec. 16, 2008 — -- The following is a commentary by ABC News' Sam Donaldson. Click here to view a video version of his latest essay.

Sen. Kennedy -- Caroline, not Edward -- that's what we've all been talking about today since she let New York Gov. David Paterson know she wants the Clinton seat.

She and her Uncle Edward already share a background of sorts when it comes to the Senate and the question might be would they share a foreground so to speak?

Although she did not change her name when she married, her husband's last name is Schlossberg, which brings to mind the shared background.

When her uncle ran for the Senate in 1962 at age 30, having not done much of anything before that, his primary opponent in Massachusetts said famously, "If your name were Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, your candidacy would be a joke."

At age 51 with much community work under Caroline's belt, I would not say her quest for a Senate seat was a joke even if she changed her name to Schlossberg. But, you get the point. Without the Kennedy name and mystique, no one thinks Paterson would spend a minute considering her appointment.

Well, of course her uncle won in 1962… and Paterson may well appoint her now. It would certainly relieve the governor of the political difficulty of explaining to the Hispanic Americans, blacks and the Cuomos why he appointed someone from one group rather than the other two. What New York Democrat would dare object publicly to the appointment of a Kennedy?

Which brings me to the question of whether Sen. Caroline would share a foreground with Sen. Edward. You see, after his start -- joke or not -- Edward Kennedy has during the years become one of the Senate's leading forces, a lion of the liberal bloc, an effective legislator whose bipartisan work with Republicans has left a large imprint on our times.

Would Sen. Caroline also wind up confounding those who say she hasn't paid her dues in an ordinary sense?

My bet is she might. … The Kennedys are a tenacious bunch and after all her father was in my view well on his way to becoming one of our truly great presidents when an assassin's bullet struck him down.