Hillary's seat is of course the one that belonged to her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy was born in and has lived most of her life in New York City and is an attorney and long time political activist, who has been quietly very active in public affairs, particularly in local education issues.

Gov. Paterson is under intense pressure from feminist groups to pick another woman to replace Hillary. They don't think it is acceptable for the Senate's most high profile female senator to have her seat taken by a man. Paterson is also being pressured by hispanic and african-americal lawmakers who want the seat for one of their own, as well as lawmakers from buffalo and elsewhere up north who think it should be the "upstate's" senate seat.

Picking Caroline Kennedy to replace Hillary makes a lot of sense for these reasons. She's high profile, she's a woman, she's a lifelong New Yorker, and when the election does come, you can't realistically see the voters of New York denying the daughter of John F. Kennedy the chance to continue serving in her uncle's seat. I actually doubt a serious democratic candidate would run against her unless she gets into some controversy or does a terrible job. Consider also that Caroline Kennedy chaired Obama's vp search committee and is closely aligned with the new President-elect. New York state could benefit from having a Senator with strong ties to the White Hosue.

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