I was struck by this story in the NYT this morning:

As the day wore on, the carefully maintained silence surrounding her campaign-that-isn’t cracked, then shattered under the weight of the intense public interest her bid has drawn. She declined any questions in Syracuse, grudgingly answered a few in Rochester, and then gave what almost felt like but was not a full-fledged news conference in Buffalo, joined by the mayor there, Byron W. Brown.

Remind you of anyone?

In fact, Sarah Palin was more qualified to be vice-president than Caroline Kennedy is to be a Senator. Both are celebrities, but Palin made her own way herself, winning election as mayor and governor without the kind of raw nepotism now on display in New York State. The model now, of course, is similar - finding a way to get elected without actually exposing your inadequacies. Hence the press shutdown. But Kennedy's self-defense is even more painful than Palin's:

“I just hope everybody understands that it is not a campaign but that I have a lifelong devotion to public service,” Ms. Kennedy said as she left the office of the Monroe County Democratic Committee in Rochester. “I’ve written books on the Constitution and the importance of individual participation. And I’ve raised my family.”

Good for you. But so have millions of others. And why do you get to parachute in to the Senate? Who do you think you are, a Clinton?

(Photo: Caroline Kennedy at the DNC in Denver, by Paul J Richards/AFP/Getty.)