Sheldon Silver bows to inevitable and says he’ll back Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy's campaign to be appointed Hillary Clinton's replacement in the Senate appears to be back on track after last weekend's disastrous media appearances, reported here. New York State's Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silver, has announced that he has overcome his initial reservations and will back her in the role if Governor David Paterson chooses her.

Silver, the state's second most powerful Democrat after Paterson, revealed his change of heart in an interview with the New York Post. "If she is the appointee of the Governor, I will certainly be supportive of her. I will work for her and will work strenuously for her election," he said.

Only a week ago, Silver was criticising Kennedy for being over-loyal to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who is an independent, and not showing her support to Democratic contenders for Bloomberg's job in the mayoral election due later this year.

Silver's position then and now highlights the complicated world of New York state politics. For Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, is a close ally of both Kennedy and Paterson, despite having beaten Democrat candidates to the job of mayor, and his aides have been lobbying in favour of Kennedy. Michael Sheekey, deputy mayor for government affairs, even went as far as saying it would be "political malpractice" to pick anyone else.

"The idea that we would pass up appointing someone to the Senate who is both a friend and a critical supporter of Barack Obama is political malpractice," Sheekey told the Daily News.

Kennedy's backers claim that as someone who was an early supporter of Barack Obama she would have the new president's ear and would be better placed than most to secure funding for cash-strapped New York during the next administration.

However, in the three weeks since she announced her interest in the vacant seat, Kennedy has polarised opinion. Some critics, including Democrats, have even likened her to Sarah Palin - the new bete noir of the political establishment - and she did herself no favours when she used the expression "you know" 142 times in last weekend's stuttering interviews with the New York press.

Away from the jostling for position, Paterson, the man with the authority to name someone to Clinton's vacant seat until 2010 when there will be an election, is keeping his cool. Recalling the words of famous baseball umpire Bill Klem, the Governor proclaimed: "'It ain't nothin' till I calls it.' Pass that along to any of these excited people who think they’re going to influence me," he said, according to the New York Times.

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 2, 2009