Caroline for London
James Forsyth 3:00pm
Under the headline ‘This would insult Britain, Mr President’, Peter Oborne objects to the idea of making Caroline Kennedy the US Ambassador to the Court of St James. Peter’s grounds are that some of “ her family were long-standing supporters of IRA terrorism during the Irish troubles” and that her grandfather who, was Ambassador to London from 1938 to 1940, “favoured Hitler over Churchill”.
Peter is right about this, if you want to get a sense of how anti-British Joe Kennedy was read John Lukacs excellent Five Days in London, but I would still like to see Caroline appointed. In reality the choice is probably between Caroline and some mega-fundraiser and there is no doubt to my mind who would do more to strengthen the Special Relationship and to explain American policy to the British public.
Caroline Kennedy would arrive to a hail of good publicity thanks to the mystique of Camelot, if you doubt me just look at yesterday’s Evening Standard’s magazine, and as her appearances on the stump for Obama showed she is a charming and persuasive speaker. She is also adept at handling the media; I suspect she would have little trouble taming Paxman and Humphrys.
Obama is enjoying a honeymoon in Britain at the moment unlike no other US president in memory. But there will come a time when Obama has to take tough foreign policy decisions that will upset influential sections of the British media. It is crucial that when that happens, Obama has a powerful advocate in London who can take to the airwaves to explain and defend his position. Caroline Kennedy can be that advocate better than any of the other candidates touted for the job, which is why, whatever her family’s history, those of us who believe in the Special Relationship and the importance of American leadership in the world should welcome her to London.
Previous
Britain Firster
November 22nd, 2008 3:26pm Report this comment"Those of us who believe in the Special Relationship and the importance of American leadership in the world should welcome her to London" - those of you who 'believe' in American leadership are welcome to Caroline Kennedy. Those of us who put British interests before American ones, are, if nothing else, better informed about some of the folk currently working for the Spectator.
Forlornehope
November 22nd, 2008 4:10pm Report this commentThis is absolutely right. So Joe Kennedy was anti-British and the White House is White because we burnt it down! It's long past time to move on. On the other hand when stuck in security at Boston just after nine-eleven, it was a consolation to see the Bostonians wetting themselves when terrorism came back to them.
Morus
November 22nd, 2008 4:57pm Report this commentI fully agree James - how many of those objecting would like their professional ambitions to be judged on the views of their grandfathers in the 1930s? I'm not sure I would. The idea that this would be an insult (versus sending us a random major donor) is risible.
dilys
November 22nd, 2008 5:27pm Report this commentGiven how high up the media has placed Obama, his fall is going to be amazingly spectacular.
Nobody could live up to the hype bestowed on him.
DM
November 22nd, 2008 10:52pm Report this commentSurely what matters is what she is like, not what her ancestors were like?
Wilfred
November 23rd, 2008 10:08am Report this comment"Caroline Kennedy would arrive to a hail of good publicity thanks to the mystique of Camelot, if you doubt me just look at yesterday’s Evening Standard’s magazine..."
You're a professional journo, and you can't even construct a sentence properly?
Sunder Katwala
November 23rd, 2008 11:18am Report this commentOborne's argument is absurd. Caroline Kennedy is not Joe Kennedy. But if he really thinks who said what in 1938 is relevant here, its hypocritical to make that argument in the Daily Mail, which was vehemently on Joe Kennedy's side of the argument over appeasement.
A post on this here
http://www.nextleft.org/2008/11/peter-obornes-selective-history.html
Conservative Cabbie
November 24th, 2008 10:57am Report this commentDilys
"Nobody could live up to the hype bestowed on him."
You mean like the left leaning media comparing him to FDR and Lincoln before he's even taken office? And to think the left try to claim rationality for themselves.
Ian C
November 24th, 2008 1:02pm Report this commentWhy is she better than other candidates James? You don't give us anything to go on.
My sentiment is that Kennedies are an over promoted bunch - perhaps because a couple of them got shot. Why is she better? It sounds as if it is because she is a Kennedy who looks and sounds good. But what are her other qualifications?
Archie
November 29th, 2008 11:54am Report this commentWord has it that the President-Elect was previously considering Oprah Somebody-or-other for the post...........................!
Back to top