Washingtonian Magazine says if Kerry Wins, Mark Shriver, who lost a congressional primary in Maryland to Chris Van Hollen, might succeed his ailing father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the Peace Corps years ago
If Kerry Wins, Teddy’s in Fat City
John Kerry’s election chances may be 50-50, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious lawyers and policy makers from lining up for jobs in the executive branch.
The problem is that no one is sure who the key Kerry gatekeepers are going to be. Kerry’s 20-year Senate career has him characterized as aloner. When it has come to getting Bay Staters placed in jobs, it has always been the other Massachusetts senator, Ted Kennedy, who has been the man to see.
A case can be made that Kennedy ended up being the “man to see” for Kerry, as the candidate was foundering in the primaries before Kennedy loaned him Mary Beth Cahill, who became his campaign director and turned the Kerry campaign around in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Kerry would enter the White House beholden mostly to Kennedy, who took Kerry under his wing in 1971, when Kerry first came to national attention as the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
As a quid pro quo for Kennedy’s help, look for this modern JFK—if elected—to go far in restoring a kind of Camelot. There are plenty of Kennedys around who could use a boost.
Mark Shriver, who lost a congressional primary in Maryland to Chris Van Hollen, might succeed his ailing father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the Peace Corps years ago. Unsuccessful Maryland candidate for governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend might surface as a top deputy in one of the departments. And there is some speculation that her brother Robert Kennedy Jr. could head the Environmental Protection Agency.
As for Ted Kennedy, he is likely to give up his 44-year Senate seat in 2006. Kennedy would have his pick of the top ambassadorial posts—maybe London, where his father was ambassador, or Paris.
As for ex-Kennedys, there is no shortage of those, led by in-law Andrew Cuomo, who is being divorced by Kerry Kennedy. Cuomo’s choice of diplomatic posts might be limited to small Middle Eastern countries.
