Caroline Kennedy drops out

America's royal family might be stepping aside, said Julian Zelizer in The Daily Beast. Caroline Kennedy, citing personal reasons, has withdrawn her name from contention to succeed Hillary Clinton, now secretary of state, in the Senate. It was looking like Kennedy's name would be enough to win Gov. David Paterson's appointment, but, judging from the protests of many New Yorkers, perhaps "picking a politician based on a dynasty" isn't the best way to go.

The Kennedy family's place in American politics is secure, said Glenn Thrush and Ben Smith in Politico. But the state of New York is on thin ice. Kennedy—whom Barack Obama wanted in the Senate—might have withdrawn because Paterson was going to pick someone else. "The slow, humiliating, public road to that rebuff" could hurt the state's standing with the Obama White House just when states are clamoring for billions in federal aid.

So maybe that's where Kennedy can get involved, said Michael Daly in the New York Daily News. Caroline made her first real foray into politics because she saw in now-President Barack Obama "her father's spirit," and she must feel even more eager to help after her uncle Ted collapsed on inauguration day. She can still serve by acting as her needy state's unofficial ambassador to Washington.

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