Dear Colorado: Mind Your Own F'ing Business

Caroline Kennedy announced last week that she would seek Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated seat in the U.S. Senate. But it's been suggested, in the midst of Barack Obama's change-fest no less, that a new generation of tabloid-readers may not show a Kennedy the same deference they once did solely on account of her family name.

That may prove true, it may not; certainly it's a more relevant conversation than whether or not Ms. Kennedy would make a good Senator. But what's entirely unnecessary is Denver's Rocky Mountain News weighing in on New York politics.

Caroline in the capitol city?

Let's look at a few states from which maybe I'd like to hear on this issue:

New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania (or just Philly), Delaware (yeah, that's right, Delaware!), and the rest of New England have regional interest. Maybe some heavyweights: California, Texas, and Florida (hoping Jeb Bush says something dumb). I could listen to Ohio or Oregon, maybe even Louisiana, just for perspective. North Dakota, sure (apparently recession-proof); Illinois and Minnesota, nope (need to do some house cleaning).

Guess who else is on the list: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and half of the Caribbean. All big parts of the state. For that matter, so is Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Euro 2008. And you can bet good chunks of Asia and Africa are on the list, too.

Colorado, I assure you, is not.

Is it because America as a whole feels so connected to the fates of the Kennedys that Denver thinks it appropriate to comment on Caroline's political career some 1,700 miles away, or is there a compound of Kennedys hiding in Colorado, waiting for just such a moment to rise up and ruin politics out west? I suspect it's the former.

However, I also suspect in this era of American politics that voters neither love nor loathe Camelot for itself anymore, and The Rocky Mountain News is childish to chide Caroline for her "magic name." She will earn the right to represent New York in the Senate, or she won't, but it will ultimately be up to New York voters to decide.

So, to the editors of The Rocky Mountain News, on behalf of New Yorkers from Buffalo to the Bronx: mind your own damn business.

Rocky Mountain News cautioned per Section B-5 & 6 for sticking its nose in New York's beeswax.