Kennedy Senate withdrawal creates political mystery

Although many Democrats had thought Mr Paterson was going to appoint Ms Kennedy to fill US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s seat, a person close to the governor said he had no intention of picking her because he believed she handled herself poorly in introducing herself as a candidate.

The person also said there were concerns about possible tax problems for Ms Kennedy, a potential “nanny problem” involving a housekeeper, and media rumours that her marriage was in trouble.

Ms Kennedy’s spokesman Stefan Friedman would not give her reasons for withdrawing, but said: “This kind of mudslinging demeans that process and all those involved.”

The New York state tax department said it could not find any problems with Ms Kennedy’s tax records. In a December interview, she denied she had a nanny problem and said that her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, was very supportive and that they lived together with their children.

Yesterday Mr Paterson issued a statement in which he said Ms Kennedy’s decision “was hers alone” and that he had not ruled out any candidate before she withdrew. He is expected to announce his choice today.

Ms Kennedy’s withdrawal unfolded in almost comically chaotic fashion.

She called the governor around midday on Wednesday and told him she was having second thoughts about the job, the source close to Mr Paterson said. After several hours in which the governor’s staff could not find her to discuss the matter, she told the governor she would remain in contention. Then, an hour later, came the midnight email.

People close to the governor were clearly angry at Ms Kennedy over the confusion.

“The question is, did she jump or was she pushed?” said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac University poll.

A person close to Ms Kennedy denied her “personal reasons” were concerns about the health of her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, who is suffering from a cancerous brain tumour discovered last summer. It has been known for months that the prognosis was grave.

“I don’t think it was Senator Kennedy’s health, because that doesn’t seem to be anything that’s changed dramatically,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College poll that tracks New York politics.

“I think that it may have been that she found out that she was going to be rejected and was given the option to avoid. She may have found the process increasingly dissatisfying. And given that she has been a private person, the last few weeks weren’t pleasant.”

Ms Kennedy, an author, lawyer and fund raiser for New York City schools, was bitterly criticised in the past few weeks for holding reporters at bay during her early public forays, then was ridiculed for interviews in which she gave halting, rambling answers littered with “you know” and “um”.

Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College, called Kennedy’s withdrawal “bizarre and ultimately embarrassing” to her and Mr Paterson.

Kerry Kennedy, a cousin of Caroline Kennedy and the ex-wife of New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo, said: “I think it’s a loss for the state and the country because she would have been tremendous.”

Political scientist Gerald Benjamin of the State University of New York at New Paltz said Mr Paterson may have simply been pressured by the party to go with a more experienced figure than Ms Kennedy, who has never held office.

The Senate seat was once held by Ms Kennedy’s murdered uncle, Bobby Kennedy. Her initial announcement that she wanted the seat was met with both excitement from supporters and scepticism from those who maintained that she was simply trading on her famous name.