Caroline Kennedy: Best NY Can Do?

The good Professor Blanchard stays up late to give a drubbing to Caroline Kennedy and her non-electoral quest to become the next Senator from New York. I've made clear previously that I'm not terribly interested in defending the next crown princess of East Coast politics. Caroline Kennedy just isn't a big issue for South Dakota politics. But I can already hear a few commenters sharpening their hypocrisy axes, thinking, "Oh, that Madville Times sure lit into Sarah Palin, but he hasn't said word one about that Kennedy lady," so I guess I'll say something.

I don't know Caroline Kennedy that well, and I don't plan to give her much attention, since she's not asking for my vote. I did listen to the "you know"-filled interview Dr. Blanchard linked and bemoaned, and I too found it uneloquent. On Dr. Blanchard's thesis that Kennedy sounds as unready for prime-time as Palin did in her Couric calamities, I will only note that while Kennedy can be faulted for poor delivery and vagueness, her interviews still aren't quite the exercises in buffoonish and illogical sloganspeak the GOP brought us last fall.

Sure, Caroline Kennedy is a smart woman. But New York's a big state filled with smart people. Governor Paterson could throw a dart at the New York Times and hit a New Yorker just as smart and capable of governing as Caroline Kennedy. Heck, why not appoint New York Times columinst and Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman (oops, he lives in New Jersey) or Thomas Friedman (dang! Bethesda, Maryland! but you get the idea... and if Clinton moved, so can these guys).

Or go for smarts and political experience: send NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo—or his dad, ex-governor Mario Cuomo! Send Mayor Ed Koch to raise hell for a couple years. Promote Carolyn Maloney from House to Senate and let Kennedy prove her political chops in a special election for that vacated House seat (so says Gloria Steinem).

But what do I know... or care? From the middle of my snowdrift here in South Dakota, I say New York, do your thing. If name recognition is what you think is in your state's best interest, then Caroline Kennedy is your gal. But in a straight résumé fight, it's hard to see Kennedy coming out on top of the New York political heap.

Prairie Postscript: My South Dakota perspective suggests one reason we might cheer a Caroline Kennedy pick: she will likely not represent New York as effectively as Tim Johnson and John Thune will continue to represent South Dakota. New York trades pit bull Clinton for powder puff Kennedy; that's one less powerful urban interest rural senators have to fight.

SD Republicans Have Primary Fun, Too!

Hey, don't you Republicans forget to head to the polls today -- South Dakota's fate rests in your hands, too! Lake County's Republicans will choose three county commission candidates to challenge Dems Craig Johannsen and Gene Anderson. Two polls on the Madville Times and the current poll at KJAM have produced the same three frontrunners: Rod Goeman, Chris Giles, and Scott Pederson. But keep an eye on Dan Bohl: he's not flashy, but he's as well connected with folks in the county, rural and urban (and I use the latter term very lightly), as anyone.

Republicans also have the pleasure of picking someone to get creamed by Tim Johnson. Maybe clever GOP voters should vote for raving xenophobe Dr. Charles Lyonel Gonyo. Dykstra and Kephart can both manage to be coherent; it's a shame to waste their efforts in a lost cause against Johnson. Save Dykstra and Kephart for some other race, save the GOP money for the competitive state legislative races. Let Gonyo win today, then leave him hanging in the wind (rather like the party did with Whalen agaisnt Herseth in 2006).

Latest Poll: Giles Edges Goeman, Kephart Edges Dykstra

The latest Madville Times GOP polls have just wrapped up. The results aren't much different from last time:


Former Lake County States Attorney Chris Giles edged ahead this time in the race for the Lake County Commission GOP nominations, but Giles, Goeman, and Pedersen comprised the top three, just like last time. The Madville Times hazards no predictions based on these results, however: Hagemann has jumped out with yard signs (Dr. Schaff would give him the edge), and Dan Bohl has been out mowing a lot of lawns. Now wouldn't it be something if grass were a voting issue in the GOP primary....

In the Senate GOP primary vote, we should be alarmed that Trent people/animal doctor, obsessed xenophobe, and teller of tall tales Charles Lyonel Gonyo can get any votes, anywhere.

Looking at the semi-rational candidates, Kephart again edged Dykstra. Can Kephart surprise the Republican establishment on Tuesday? Or are his showings in the Madville Times polls just a manifestation of his support among the more liberal thinkers who might find their way to this blog? We'll find out in four days!

Kephart, Goeman, Obama Top Local Polls

So Sam Kephart, Rod Goeman, and Barack Obama walk into a bar... if only!

All three of those men did jump the highest bar of public support in our local polls. Kephart topped the choices in the Madville Times South Dakota GOP Senate primary, while Goeman drew the most support in our Lake County GOP primary for County Commission. Chris Giles and Scott Pedersen tied for second: if they can repeat that feat at the polls June 3, they'll join Goeman as the three standard bearers for local Republicans against Dems Craig Johannsen and Gene Anderson.
Meanwhile, news director Dylan Hunter* provides the final numbers for the KJAM presidential poll, conducted over the past couple weeks:

1. Barack Obama: 42.4% (87 votes)
2. John McCain: 33.5% (69)
3. Hillary Clinton: 18.9% (39)
4. Ron Paul: 5.3% (11)

I guess the Madison/KJAM-listening audience doesn't quite have the same political preferences as our small-town West Virginia counterparts.

A reminder: I make no pretense to science with these polls. But if you think about it, elections themselves are far from scientific. The winners are those who get their people to show up. So keep showing up here at the Madville Times -- more polls to come!

*By the way, Dylan Hunter can play dobro, slide guitar, and mandolin, and he's looking for musicians to jam with! Pickers and grinners, give Dylan a ring at the station (256-4514). Talk about Discovering the Unexpected™... at KJAM!