Free Republic

NEW YORK – Caroline Kennedy emerged from weeks of near-silence Friday about her bid for a Senate seat by saying that after a lifetime of closely guarded privacy, she felt compelled to answer the call to service issued by her father a generation ago. She said two events shaped her decision to ask Gov. David Paterson 11 days ago to consider her for the position if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and her work for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

NEW YORK — At this time last year, Caroline Kennedy was promoting A Family Christmas, a collection of essays that featured the memory of her father letting her use the White House switchboard to call Santa. This year, after warily stepping into the political free-for-all for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Ms. Kennedy's activities during the holiday season included fending off requests to disclose financial information.

It's "her time" to get into the family business. Caroline Kennedy's high-profile appointment to Barack Obama's vice-presidential search team was orchestrated in a deal brokered by her famous uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, in exchange for his endorsement, The Post has learned. It was the result of Carolina, a 50-year-old Harvard grad, indicating to her now-ailing uncle that it was "her time" to get into politics, insiders told The Post. JFK's daughter is looking to get her feet wet in political affairs, sources said, including the possibility she could one day run for office in some capacity or accept a...