A stranger not in our midst: Caroline Kennedy

Successful politicians know it's not about the damage; in politics damage happens.

Rather, it's about damage control.

Which brings us to Caroline Kennedy, who sometime within the last few weeks of her 51 years has decided to become a politician and now wants the U.S. senate seat soon to be vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was not so much about how Kennedy handled her first foray into politics during a recent drive-by of Thruway cities. By now everyone has seen the TV footage of Kennedy's aides hurriedly whisking her away from reporters, leaving unanswered such probing questions as: "Have you ever been to Syracuse before?"

Instead, it was about the next day.

After editorials flogged her from one end of the Empire State to the other for giving the appearance of announcing her own coronation, Kennedy had to make a decision on controlling the damage. To recast her image as someone who truly cares about New York state issues, her choices included visiting a Lewis County dairy farm, talking to a Finger Lakes winemaker, touring Massena's Alcoa plant, heading for Kodak in Rochester or visiting an elementary school in Buffalo.

Her choice? She had lunch in New York City with the Rev. Al Sharpton, who last year owed the United States $1.5 million in back taxes and remains anathema to all law enforcement officials for his slander in the Tawana Brawley case two decades ago.

Now, there's some fine damage control!

History should be on Kennedy's side. When it comes to its senate seats, New York occasionally looks pretty much like Poland: Outside invaders with enough cash usually roll across the landscape, facing only token resistance.

But recent events have became IEDs for Kennedy's campaign:

■ The state is still smarting from the resignations of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and former Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Our accidental governor, David Paterson, is now about to appoint yet another unelected state leader, and the fact that Kennedy's name has never been on a ballot isn't sitting well with voters.

■ Our state's geography makes for this interesting factoid: New York City is closer to Richmond, Va., than it is to Buffalo. Despite our vast real estate, our state government's leadership hails from within a 10-mile radius of the 59th Street Bridge. When U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Queens, recently said he wouldn't want Clinton's Senate seat "because I don't do Utica," he was describing how many in the circle see the rest of the state. Kennedy, another circle dweller, has said nothing to suggest she would be interested in Utica either.

■ And despite Kennedy's warm, caring smile and nonthreatening body language, this is the same woman who joined the entire Kennedy cartel to throw Clinton under the bus last year in her race for president against Barack Obama. Now, sweet Caroline is asking many of the same people who supported a Clinton presidency for the last six years to help her replace Clinton in the U.S. Senate. As Clinton would say, "talk about chuptzah ..."

While Kennedy finds it difficult to articulate why she should be given the job of U.S. senator, the regions of New York are rounding up the usual prompts. For us it is always the same: Protect Fort Drum; harness the power and potential of the St. Lawrence River; don't let our dairy industry go udder-up.

Rising to meet the din from ours and all the other regions of New York are the national party people, who note that Kennedy would be just swell because she supports gay marriage in the U.S., women's rights in Tibet and can raise a lot of money for Democrats everywhere.

Fair enough. But with Wall Street atrophying, a pending collapse in the state's pension system, a medical services shortage and a federal tax system that has New York still sending money to Mississippi, Arkansas, et al., this really is not the best time to wax poetic for Camelot.

Right now, New York — the state, not the circle — needs an advocate, not an icon.

Bob Gorman is managing editor of the Times.