Face the Nation (CBS) - 2008-12-21

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Today on Face the Nation, Caroline

[0:03] Kennedy. Should she be New York's next

[0:06] senator? Is she the most qualified

[0:08] candidate? Can she campaign statewide?

[0:11] And why does she want the job after

[0:13] years of asking for privacy? It is the

[0:16] talk of the political world. We'll talk

[0:19] with Joel Klene, one of her best friends

[0:21] and New York City school chancellor.

[0:24] Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds and

[0:26] Peter King. Democratic Congressman Gary

[0:29] Akerman and former vice presidential

[0:31] candidate Gerald Dean Ferrari. Then

[0:34] we'll get analysis from Dominic Carter,

[0:37] political anchor for New York One. I'll

[0:40] have a final word on FaceTime. But

[0:43] first, the New York Senate seat and

[0:45] Caroline Kim on Face the Nation.

[0:51] [music]

[0:56] Face the nation with CBS News chief

[0:59] Washington correspondent Bob Schiffer.

[1:01] And now from CBS News in Washington, Bob

[1:05] Sheaffer.

[1:07] >> Good morning again. Well, we have a full

[1:09] house this morning, but not as full as

[1:11] we had hoped. Carrie Kennedy, who is

[1:14] Caroline Kennedy's cousin, was supposed

[1:17] to start off our broadcast this morning,

[1:19] but our television remote truck uh ran

[1:22] off the road and into a snowbank in a

[1:24] ditch outside her home in Mount Kiscoco

[1:26] this morning. A bad storm up there. So,

[1:29] Carrie Kennedy will be watching this

[1:31] morning, but she will not be on the

[1:32] broadcast with us. So we will start this

[1:34] morning with Joel Klene who is the uh

[1:37] chancellor of the New York school system

[1:40] who has gotten a lot of acclaim around

[1:42] the country for what he's done with New

[1:44] York schools. He's a very close friend

[1:45] of Caroline Kennedy. Uh so I would just

[1:48] ask you to start here uh Mr. Klein, give

[1:51] us the best case for why this person

[1:53] who's never taken part in politics,

[1:55] who's never wanted a public life, and in

[1:57] fact who has gone to great lengths to

[2:00] ask the press and others to respect her

[2:03] privacy. Why all of a sudden should she

[2:06] be uh the person most qualified to

[2:08] become New York's next senator? Well, I

[2:11] think she did right by her family and

[2:13] certainly raised her kids and is now at

[2:16] a point in her life where she can serve

[2:18] this state and be a part of the Senate

[2:21] at a time when, frankly, we're going to

[2:22] need her intelligence, her integrity,

[2:24] and her ability to bring people together

[2:27] to do what's right for the state of New

[2:28] York and for the country. I've known

[2:30] Caroline uh for a long time. She's a

[2:33] very bright, very committed woman, and I

[2:36] think this is the right time. the work

[2:37] she did for President-elect Obama, I

[2:40] think, put her on the national stage,

[2:42] uh, led her to get involved in issues

[2:45] that she cares deeply about, and I think

[2:47] that's critical, uh, as we go forward. I

[2:50] also think she'll have the relationships

[2:52] on Capitol Hill to be able to get the

[2:54] work done. Uh, I think in her own quiet,

[2:56] but very effective way, she's going to

[2:59] be able to bring new ideas uh, at a time

[3:01] when this country needs them. And if you

[3:03] think about the message, Bob, of the

[3:05] last election, the message was we want a

[3:08] different kind of politics in Washington

[3:10] DC. The old partisan ways are not

[3:12] serving the people. And I think the

[3:14] people are looking for leadership and

[3:17] the kind of values that I think Caroline

[3:19] will reflect.

[3:20] >> We have to point out here, she's not

[3:22] running for this. The New York governor,

[3:24] Governor Patterson, is going to make

[3:25] this appointment. But whoever, including

[3:28] Caroline Kennedy, if she decides to run,

[3:30] would have to run in 2010 to finish out

[3:33] Hillary Clinton's term and then would

[3:35] have to run again uh in 2012. Well, Gary

[3:39] Aki, a lot of the Democrats uh in New

[3:42] York, elected officials have said that

[3:44] they think this is a good idea. Uh so

[3:46] far, you have not been one of those.

[3:48] >> Well, I don't know if it's a good idea

[3:50] because I'm not sure I know who she is.

[3:51] is I mean everyone knows who she is but

[3:53] we're not sure what she is. Uh you know

[3:56] uh they're Kennedys. Uh they're all

[3:58] they're all boats but is she a sailboat

[4:00] when we need a battleship? That remains

[4:02] to be seen. And the very fact that she's

[4:05] sequested herself for her whole life.

[4:06] Nobody knows what what her values are.

[4:09] We can assume we don't know the second

[4:11] thing which is probably more is as

[4:12] important in New York and in national

[4:14] politics. What kind of fighter she will

[4:17] be. Does she have the guts and the

[4:19] gumption to do it? Right now she's

[4:21] auditioning for the job. One man is

[4:22] going to pick it as as you point out,

[4:24] Bob. Uh but eventually she has to get

[4:26] into the ring, face the public. And the

[4:28] very fact that that right now that she

[4:30] has handlers around her, um we've not

[4:32] been able to see who she's been all

[4:34] these years. She's never written a

[4:35] letter to the editor expressing a view

[4:37] or fighting for it. As far as I know, uh

[4:40] they've basically Sarah Palinized her,

[4:42] if I can coin a phrase. They've they've

[4:44] they're answering questions that you

[4:46] have to submit in writing. She's not

[4:47] talking to reporters as she makes this

[4:49] grand tour. They're kind of building a

[4:51] mystique and an industry around her when

[4:53] we need somebody to fight. She has a

[4:55] very famous name and and she's a very

[4:58] attractive candidate. Those are good

[4:59] things in politics, but it's not an

[5:01] entitlement. You know, one of the things

[5:02] that uh that uh that we have to observe

[5:06] is that DNA in this business can take

[5:08] you just so far. You know, Rembrandt was

[5:11] a was a was a great artist. His brother

[5:14] Murray on the other hand, Murray

[5:15] Rembrandt, wouldn't paint a house.

[5:18] [laughter]

[5:18] I I must say I didn't know about Murray,

[5:21] but I'm

[5:22] [laughter]

[5:24] all right. Well, let's go. Let's go to

[5:27] Gerald A. Ferrarero first. Do you know

[5:29] Murray Rimbrandt?

[5:31] >> I really don't. No, I haven't met him,

[5:33] but you know, there is always time.

[5:35] >> Congressman Arian, I'm going to take his

[5:37] word on this historical fact here.

[5:40] Congressman or Miss Ferrero, uh, let me

[5:42] just ask you this question. When we

[5:44] booked you basically, uh, to be on the

[5:46] broadcast last week, it was my

[5:48] understanding that you were neutral on

[5:50] all of this, but I have since learned,

[5:52] according to the New York Post, and I

[5:54] want to give you a chance to comment on

[5:56] this, that you are actually against uh,

[5:58] Caroline getting this, and you have

[6:00] asked the governor in a letter to

[6:02] appoint one of the uh, six uh, female

[6:05] members of Congress that come from New

[6:06] York. Did something change here? What's

[6:09] going on? Know the thing that happens,

[6:10] Bob, is when I give an interview to a

[6:12] fifth or sixth grader, I always make

[6:14] sure that they have a a tape recorder on

[6:16] so they get the message right.

[6:18] Unfortunately, I didn't do this with

[6:19] this young reporter. He had wanted to

[6:21] write a story that I was opposed to

[6:22] Carolyn Kennedy and I said to him, "No,

[6:24] you can't say that." What he did was he

[6:27] quoted the fact that I had said, which I

[6:29] had done, that I had sent a a letter to

[6:32] staff person and asked him to get the it

[6:34] to the governor. Um, but not it wasn't

[6:37] last week. I sent it in November and I

[6:40] saw the governor at an event November

[6:43] 15th here in New York at which he got up

[6:47] and he was really he was an honore for

[6:48] the Franklin Delanor Roosevelt Institute

[6:50] and what had happened was he had gotten

[6:52] up and had described a after some funny

[6:55] remarks at the very beginning but he had

[6:57] gotten into details on what the concerns

[7:00] are of this state right now and budget

[7:03] for shortfalls and he was talking about

[7:06] a good 20 to

[7:08] minute speech on exactly what problems

[7:10] the state is facing. Now, I don't know

[7:13] if anybody else has noticed, but we're

[7:14] in a financial crisis, worldwide

[7:16] financial crisis. To me, this this

[7:19] appointment, and it's not a race, it is

[7:21] an appointment by the governor is not

[7:24] it's not about an individual. It is

[7:28] about the state and the needs of the

[7:30] state. And at that time, right after his

[7:33] comments, I wrote a letter saying that

[7:36] in my view that we could not, and by the

[7:38] way, this was right after Delaware had

[7:40] appointed someone to fill the term for

[7:42] two years before a a special election to

[7:46] fill Joe Biden's seat. I had said it

[7:49] seems to me that we need somebody down

[7:51] there for the good of the state who

[7:54] knows the process who doesn't have to

[7:56] get down there and learn the process who

[7:59] can get down there and hit the ground

[8:01] running just like President-elect Obama

[8:03] will do when he gets inaugurated. He

[8:06] will hit the ground running. We need

[8:08] somebody to fight for this state. It is

[8:10] not about an individual. It

[8:12] [clears throat] is about the state and

[8:14] about the needs of the state. And I

[8:16] personally think that this whole

[8:17] campaign that has been going on in the

[8:20] last week or so is is almost it's very

[8:23] very difficult.

[8:24] >> Okay. So while you're not you're not

[8:27] against her, you're not necessarily for

[8:29] her. You just want

[8:30] >> What I did was I said in order to get

[8:32] somebody who hit the ground running, I I

[8:33] specifically said I think you should

[8:35] look to members of Congress because

[8:36] their biggest concern, they've been

[8:38] dealing with these issues for the last

[8:39] several months. What they have to do,

[8:41] their biggest concern is moving from one

[8:43] side of the capital to the other side of

[8:44] the capital. They know what's going on.

[8:46] They know the process. They can move.

[8:48] And then I did put in a little bit of a

[8:50] a a a support for the six women members.

[8:53] I said, "I don't know if any one of them

[8:54] wants it, but I think you should reach

[8:56] out to them and ask them." That was it.

[8:59] >> Okay. All right. Well, let me go to Tom

[9:01] Reynolds, Congressman from Buffalo, who

[9:04] also happens to be a Republican. Uh

[9:06] Caroline Kennedy came up to Buffalo last

[9:08] week. Does she come up there often,

[9:11] Congressman?

[9:12] >> No, she didn't. I think uh the last time

[9:14] was maybe campaigning for then uh the

[9:16] first lady uh Hillary Rodm Clinton uh as

[9:19] she was running for the Senate in 2000.

[9:22] And it's interesting uh Buffalo is a

[9:24] bluecollar town in upstate and I guess

[9:26] I'm the only upstater on the program,

[9:28] but she came in a foreign SUV. She left

[9:32] in a uh a Jeep, but uh those are no nos

[9:36] to uh anybody that's learning the uh the

[9:38] geography of upstate New York. uh not to

[9:42] uh be an elected official or a candidate

[9:44] uh traveling in a foreign car. Uh but

[9:47] that meeting that she did upstate in

[9:49] Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo uh was

[9:52] not uh full of press announcement or

[9:55] fanfare. They were really private

[9:57] meetings with the mayors of those three

[9:59] cities. And when it gets us to uh what

[10:02] I've said earlier, um President Barack

[10:05] Obama, president-elect, uh has

[10:07] demonstrated that any person can be

[10:10] elected as an American to the

[10:12] presidency, and he's taken great pride

[10:14] in that and he should. But we've seen

[10:16] the Senate become a House of Lords. And

[10:19] by that, uh, when we've talked a little

[10:21] earlier about entitlement, uh, we're

[10:23] seeing a seat warmer in Delaware, a seat

[10:26] seller in Illinois, and we're making

[10:29] seat cushions in New York uh, for kind

[10:33] of an aristocrat royalty of entitlement

[10:35] uh, coming in here. And as was said by

[10:38] Jerry Ferraro, it is uh, uh, where New

[10:41] York needs a fighter. And right now,

[10:43] based on how the Senate's picking

[10:44] candidates, even Chuck Schumer, the

[10:47] senior senator of New York, wouldn't be

[10:48] eligible because he was just a Brooklyn

[10:50] congressman.

[10:51] >> All right. Well, uh, I'm going to go to

[10:53] Peter King, uh, your colleague in the

[10:55] Congress, who's also a Republican from

[10:57] out on Long Island. Uh, Congressman, you

[10:59] would actually like to run for this seat

[11:01] in 2010 and have made no secret about

[11:04] that. Uh the fact that we're having this

[11:06] program this morning, the fact that she

[11:08] has stirred up so much comment, not just

[11:10] not in New York, but across the nation,

[11:12] doesn't that suggest she probably would

[11:14] be the strongest, the toughest candidate

[11:16] for you to run against if you do in fact

[11:18] run?

[11:20] >> No, Bob, not at all. Because uh New

[11:22] York, as you know, is the number one

[11:25] Islamic terrorist target in the world.

[11:27] Uh we're going to face unprecedented uh

[11:30] hardship because of the financial crisis

[11:31] affecting New York. And the last thing

[11:33] we need is a People magazine celebrity

[11:35] as our United States senator, especially

[11:37] someone who has no experience, who as

[11:39] far as I know has never held a real job.

[11:41] And now we found out that she hasn't

[11:43] even voted half the time. She hasn't

[11:45] voted in any of the Democratic mayoral

[11:47] primaries. She didn't even vote the last

[11:49] time that Pat Moyahan ran for the seat

[11:52] that she's looking for now or Mario

[11:54] Cuomo is running the race of his life

[11:55] and lost. She wasn't there for that. And

[11:58] even for instance, you have Joel Klein

[12:00] on. I think Joel Klein will be an

[12:02] outstanding candidate. Uh Shirley

[12:04] Jackson, another educator, be a great

[12:06] candidate. Gary Aerman, Shirley Ferrar,

[12:08] these people who have been through the

[12:09] mill, who know what it's like, who have

[12:10] had real life experience. How can the

[12:12] average New Yorker identify with

[12:14] Caroline Kennedy when she spent her

[12:17] whole life, and again, she comes from an

[12:18] outstanding family. I'm sure she's a

[12:20] wonderful parent, but she's never taken

[12:22] a stand on any public issue. She's never

[12:25] been uh even held one news conference.

[12:27] She hasn't gone to one American Legion

[12:29] Hall or Knights of Columbus Hall or

[12:30] Masonic Temple or one uh uh synagogue to

[12:33] answer questions. Uh when she does go on

[12:36] her so-called listening tour upstate,

[12:38] she's like running from the, you know,

[12:39] from city hall into the car to avoid

[12:41] reporters. And we just can't afford

[12:43] that. We can't afford to have a senator

[12:46] uh who is not prepared on day one. So,

[12:48] you'd say uh uh as far as being a tough

[12:51] candidate, uh you know, I don't want to

[12:52] be hurting myself and I would say any of

[12:54] the other Democratic candidates who are

[12:56] being named have far more credentials

[12:58] and have far more experience than

[13:00] Caroline Kennedy. And the fact that this

[13:01] is on national television means that if

[13:04] she does get the appointment from

[13:05] Governor Patterson that there's going to

[13:07] be a magnifying glass on her. There's

[13:09] going to be a spotlight on her and

[13:11] people are going to see that she is not

[13:13] equipped for the job and it's going to

[13:14] create national tension. And I think the

[13:16] Republican candidate in 2010 will have a

[13:19] much better opportunity against Caroline

[13:20] Kennedy than against the others,

[13:22] especially someone who could identify

[13:24] with middle inome workingclass families.

[13:26] >> All right. Well, uh Joel Klein, if

[13:28] Carrie Kennedy were here this morning,

[13:30] we'd certainly give her a chance to

[13:31] rebut some of this, but you're having to

[13:34] do double duty this morning. So, I guess

[13:36] I'll give you a chance here to just go

[13:37] down the line here and talk about some

[13:39] of this. I must say uh nobody at this

[13:41] point has said anything uh disparaging

[13:44] about Caroline Kennedy's character, but

[13:47] I would also add as a someone who

[13:49] covered the Congress for 15 years and

[13:51] was in the capital every almost every

[13:53] day during those 15 years, uh it is hard

[13:56] for me to imagine Caroline Kennedy

[13:58] getting off one of those Senate

[14:00] elevators and being accosted by five or

[14:03] six reporters because reporters have

[14:05] total access to candidates there. How is

[14:08] she going to manage that and how is she

[14:10] going to do that?

[14:11] >> I I've seen her do it here in New York.

[14:13] You know, we've done events together.

[14:15] Let me make a couple of points, Bob,

[14:16] because I think there's a lot of carping

[14:18] and, you know, sort of clever uh

[14:20] analogies, but I think people are

[14:22] missing the essence of this woman, and

[14:24] I'll give you two instances. Five and a

[14:26] half, six years ago, when I asked her

[14:29] along with Mayor Bloomberg to come help

[14:31] with New York City's public schools,

[14:33] that's not a glamorous thing to do. This

[14:36] woman put her shoulder to the wheel,

[14:38] went out there and sent a powerful

[14:40] message to the entire city that public

[14:42] education matters. She helped us raise

[14:44] money. She helped us forge partnerships

[14:46] and she spent time with our kids in the

[14:49] schools. I think that says a lot about

[14:51] her. She could have done a lot of things

[14:53] with the time she had. And most

[14:55] recently, think about this. She came out

[14:57] and this was a a courageous act and

[15:00] announced that she was going to support

[15:02] uh then uh Senator Obama in the national

[15:05] election. That was not an easy thing to

[15:07] do coming from New York City. She's a

[15:09] woman of character and a woman of

[15:11] conviction. And my good friend Pete King

[15:14] said, you know, what does she know about

[15:16] the middle class or the working class or

[15:18] struggling people? With all due respect,

[15:20] she came to work for the kids in New

[15:23] York. Most of those kids grow up in poor

[15:26] families. You know, you could say about

[15:27] Teddy Kennedy, what does he know about

[15:30] the working class and the poor and the

[15:31] underprivileged and yet he's the lion of

[15:34] the Senate? You could say about Hillary

[15:36] Clinton, she had never run for any

[15:38] office before she became senator. And I

[15:41] don't think anyone would say she hasn't

[15:43] served this state with great

[15:45] distinction. I think Caroline Kennedy

[15:47] has all of the right stuff. I think

[15:49] she's ready. Now, in the past, Bob, and

[15:52] you mentioned this, when you're dealing

[15:53] with the issues that her family went

[15:56] through and keeping her children away

[15:58] from the media and all the attention,

[16:00] that was her goal, and she did it

[16:01] masterfully. But I have seen her over

[16:03] the last several years. I saw her on

[16:06] national television several times during

[16:08] this election, and she's a woman who is

[16:10] poised and ready. And is she a fighter

[16:12] for the things she cares about? You bet

[16:14] she's a fighter. I think this woman

[16:16] really is going to have the stuff that

[16:19] people want to see in a candidate

[16:21] ultimately. And if she gets to run

[16:23] against uh Pete King in 2010, I think

[16:26] we'll all enjoy that, including I

[16:28] suspect Pete.

[16:28] >> All right, let me go back to Gary Arian.

[16:30] There's another intriguing angle to this

[16:33] story, and that is that Andrew Cuomo,

[16:35] who is the state attorney general, a lot

[16:38] of polls show that a lot of New Yorkers

[16:39] would like to see him get this

[16:41] appointment. But if there's here's

[16:43] another possibility. Would it be

[16:45] dangerous for Governor Patterson to pick

[16:48] Caroline Kennedy for this post? And I

[16:51] say that dangerous politically because

[16:53] that might then encourage Andrew Cuomo,

[16:55] who'd like to have this Senate

[16:56] appointment, to run instead for governor

[16:59] against Governor Patterson.

[17:00] >> Well, there's always that possibility

[17:02] and the governor has to figure that all

[17:03] into his calculus. But I think in the

[17:04] end that the governor is going to do

[17:06] what he believes is best in the

[17:08] interests of the state of New York

[17:09] rather than something political. He's

[17:11] proven time and time again that he's up

[17:12] to that task of of doing it. Uh I I just

[17:15] have to comment my my good friend uh

[17:17] Pete King uh I think he's trying to lay

[17:20] the trap and bait Carolyn Kennedy uh

[17:22] into this. Uh Ted Kennedy may be the

[17:25] lion of the Senate, but Pete King is is

[17:27] the Tom tiger of of the House. He he

[17:30] can't wait to get her in there to rough

[17:32] her up. This is a very bruising, tough

[17:36] business to be in. Uh whether or not she

[17:39] fits that mold or not remains to be

[17:41] seen. whether she is the lion of that

[17:44] that appears to be in her her uncle or

[17:47] whether uh her cousin uh Kathleen in

[17:50] Maryland who was the lieutenant governor

[17:52] nominated picked to be on the slate with

[17:54] the governor did it for eight years as

[17:55] as a Kennedy name and then committed the

[17:58] crime of losing the rate for governor

[18:00] terrible in the debates couldn't hold a

[18:02] candle to the Republican opposition was

[18:04] basically eaten alive and lost the state

[18:06] that a Democrat should be put in jail

[18:08] for losing Pete King and and and anybody

[18:10] else on the Republican I can't wait to

[18:12] get her into the race.

[18:13] >> All right. Well, I could talk about this

[18:15] all morning. I want to thank all of you.

[18:17] This was just fascinating for me. We'll

[18:19] be back in one minute uh to talk with

[18:22] Dominic Carter about his tale in a

[18:24] second.

[18:36] And with us now, Dominic Carter, who is

[18:38] the political anchor of New York One

[18:40] News. And Dominic, I want to say uh when

[18:42] we started calling around in New York

[18:44] City last week to find out who would

[18:47] have their finger on this story, uh you

[18:50] were the person who was most often

[18:52] mentioned and that's why we asked you to

[18:54] be with us this morning. So, what do you

[18:56] hear? What do you know? How is this

[18:58] thing going to come out?

[18:59] >> Well, first of all, good morning, Bob,

[19:01] and thank you for that comment. Uh, from

[19:03] what I hear, uh, I've listened for the

[19:05] last couple of minutes to the back and

[19:06] forth between the members of Congress,

[19:09] Geraldine Far Ferraro and the school's

[19:10] chancellor, but from what I hear, it is

[19:13] basically a done deal that if Caroline

[19:15] Kennedy wants this seat, and she has

[19:17] expressed interest in it, then it is

[19:19] hers. I I should point out, Bob, that uh

[19:22] last week I had the opportunity to sit

[19:24] down with her for a couple of minutes up

[19:26] in Harlem and and the the Camelot signs

[19:29] are there. you know, we can talk about

[19:31] how private a person she is and so on,

[19:34] you know, uh running away from the

[19:36] media, but the signs that I saw um and

[19:39] this is it may it may not be done, but

[19:41] I'm told that it's done. When she walked

[19:43] into this restaurant in Harlem, the

[19:45] crowd gave her basically a standing

[19:47] ovation and then she sat down for a

[19:50] private event, I saw confidence. I I saw

[19:53] that she wasn't looking to run. Uh it

[19:55] had to to run away from the media. It

[19:57] has been somewhat of a slow roll out of

[20:00] Caroline Kennedy and I think her folks

[20:02] are taking the heat for that.

[20:03] >> Well, let's talk a little bit about this

[20:05] other side of the story that I find so

[20:07] interesting and again there are so many

[20:08] connections here and that is the Andrew

[20:11] Cuomo side. the son of another very

[20:14] famous political family in New York, the

[20:16] son of Mario Cuomo, the former governor,

[20:19] who I would also say was once married to

[20:22] Carrie Kennedy, uh, who was supposed to

[20:24] be on this program this morning beating

[20:26] the drums for Caroline Kennedy. Uh, what

[20:29] about this deal? I'm hearing that he

[20:32] would very much like to have this

[20:33] appointment. And what happens if

[20:35] Governor Patterson does appoint Caroline

[20:38] Kennedy to this seat? Do you think that

[20:40] would increase the possibility that

[20:41] Andrew Cuomo might then turn around and

[20:44] run against Patterson for governor?

[20:46] >> Perhaps, but that might be a stretch,

[20:49] Bob. Uh Andrew Cuomo is definitely

[20:52] interested in the job, but the problem

[20:53] is that if he does not get it, and

[20:56] Governor Patterson goes with Caroline

[20:57] Kennedy. Andrew Cuomo has been down this

[21:00] road before in terms of trying to run in

[21:03] a primary against an African-American

[21:05] candidate. And and and in this case, it

[21:07] would be a sitting governor. So, that

[21:09] may not sit too well. He has a future in

[21:11] the Democratic party, and he may, I

[21:13] emphasize, may may not want to put it on

[21:16] the line to again challenge a uh an

[21:19] African-American candidate where it

[21:20] didn't play too well the last time

[21:22] around.

[21:22] >> Well, you know, uh politicians first

[21:24] rule is personal survival. And I think

[21:27] that's one of the things that Governor

[21:29] Patterson will obviously have to take

[21:31] into account. The other part of it is

[21:33] Governor Patterson wants somebody on

[21:35] that ticket with him, uh, who's going to

[21:37] help him get votes, somebody that can

[21:39] raise money without cutting into his

[21:41] money. Uh, would that be the main reason

[21:44] that you see it that he would, uh, would

[21:46] appoint Caroline Kennedy other than the

[21:48] fact that, well, she's qualified or

[21:49] whatever else he would say about her?

[21:51] >> Uh, I I don't necessarily see it, Bob,

[21:53] as the major reason. Perhaps on top of

[21:56] that would be the incoming White House

[21:58] of President-elect Barack Obama wants to

[22:01] see Caroline Kennedy in the Senate. Uh,

[22:03] Senate Majority Leader uh Harry Reid has

[22:06] expressed support for her going to the

[22:08] Senate. But I'm glad you brought that

[22:10] point up because it is a good one. If

[22:12] Caroline Kennedy is on the ticket, the

[22:14] same ticket in which Charles Schumer

[22:16] runs for reelection in 2010, she brings

[22:20] prestige. She brings the Kennedy name

[22:22] and she brings the ability to raise a

[22:24] lot of money. That's one less problem

[22:26] the Democrats will have to worry about.

[22:28] >> We're almost out of time here, but what

[22:30] about Hillary Clinton? Will she try to

[22:32] block this? No love lost with the

[22:34] Kennedy family after they endorsed Obama

[22:36] early on.

[22:37] >> She has told her people to back off. She

[22:40] is moving ahead in terms of becoming

[22:42] Secretary of State. And you know, for

[22:44] all the criticism we've heard of

[22:45] Caroline Kennedy, we've been there

[22:47] before in terms of hearing the same

[22:48] exact thing about Hillary Clinton, Bob.

[22:50] And happy holidays to you.

[22:52] >> All right. Thank you very much, Dominic.

[22:53] And we'll be back in just a moment.

[22:58] [music]

[23:02] >> This portion of Face the Nation was

[23:04] sponsored by Exxon Mobile, taking on the

[23:07] world's toughest energy challenges.

[23:14] Finally, a little explanation here. You

[23:16] have been watching TV and looking at me

[23:19] and you may see that something's not

[23:21] right. I'm puffed up like a toad who's

[23:24] been down a hard road. You're thinking,

[23:26] "Maybe I got in a fight. Is it a plug of

[23:29] tobacco or a facelift gone wacko that

[23:32] gives me this joker's lear?" Are the

[23:34] holiday rounds just adding on pounds?

[23:37] Mr. Christmas fat face. That's me this

[23:40] year. Well, thank you for asking. It

[23:42] won't be long lasting. Dental work has

[23:45] made me balloon, but doctors Cohen and

[23:47] Miller, who combined on this thriller,

[23:50] say the swelling goes down real soon. In

[23:54] fact, you should have seen me yesterday.

[23:55] Thanks for watching Face the Nation this

[23:57] year. And rounder skinny, I hope the

[23:59] holidays give you a big happy face.

[24:14] And next week on Face the Nation, the

[24:16] Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Pat

[24:18] Quinn. Happy holidays, everyone.

[24:28] >> [music]