Reply
Mon 1 Apr, 2013 05:54 pm
Caroline Kennedy Seen as Likely Choice for Japan Envoy
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Published: April 1, 2013
WASHINGTON — Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, is close to being announced as the next United States ambassador to Japan, according to people familiar with the appointment process.
The vetting of Ms. Kennedy by the White House is almost complete, and an appointment could be announced in the coming weeks, along with the names of several other choices for high-profile diplomatic posts. Bloomberg News and The Washington Post first reported that Ms. Kennedy was under consideration.
Ms. Kennedy was an early supporter of President Obama, offering forceful backing as he battled Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She also served as a co-chairwoman of Mr. Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
The diplomatic assignment would vault Ms. Kennedy, a lawyer and author, into the kind of public life that her father and uncles pursued for decades. Esther Newberg, the agent for Ms. Kennedy’s current book, a compilation of poetry for young children, declined to comment on the author’s behalf.
“She is on her book tour, actually, and that’s the only thing she is talking about,” Ms. Newberg wrote in an e-mail.
White House officials declined to comment on Ms. Kennedy. Jay Carney, the press secretary, said he had “no personnel announcements to make” about ambassador appointments. Asked to comment on Ms. Kennedy’s qualifications to serve as ambassador to Japan, Mr. Carney declined.
Sending Ms. Kennedy to Japan would continue a long tradition by presidents of appointing high-profile people to that post. Those have included Walter F. Mondale, the former vice president; Mike Mansfield, the former Senate majority leader; and Tom Foley, the former speaker of the House.
Ms. Kennedy would arrive in Japan as a kind of celebrity, part of one of America’s most famous political families and someone close to the current American president. She would replace John Roos, the former head of a Silicon Valley law firm.
In Japan, the next ambassador will face a nation still working to recover from the tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck in 2011. The ambassador will also be on the front lines of the president’s efforts to refocus American diplomacy on Asia. The next envoy will arrive as the new leader in North Korea, Kim Jong-un, is making increasingly aggressive moves toward the United States and South Korea
NYTimes online
@Miller,
I sincerely hope the US government has sufficient security details in place to protect Ms. Kennedy. The tension in Asia is growing daily and I personally worry about Caroline's safety.
Will the Marine detail be enough to safeguard her?
Should she bring along her own security detail for extra protection?
I wish her well and pray for her safety.
@Miller,
Japan is far safer than the US. Guns are almost impossible to obtain. Crime is very low in Japan. It has superb health care. What exactly do you fear?
@Ceili,
The Kennedy family has a curse on it a mile wide: her father, her mother, her brother, her step-father.
I'm not worried about hand guns in Japan. I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
@Miller,
Miller wrote:
The Kennedy family has a curse on it a mile wide: her father, her mother, her brother, her step-father.
I'm not worried about hand guns in Japan. I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
I read a book a few month's ago. I forgot its title, but the basic thesis was that some families have an inherited trait to take chances that may jeopardize one's safety. The concept was in context of different styles of leadership. Anyway, in crises, this willingness to take chances may make for good leadership, i.e., Kenndy during the Cuban Missile Crisis or Churchill during WWII. And, ten years or so ago, I was right near Tin Pan Alley by Broadway, weekday mid-afternoon, and she was walking to some appointment (obviously) all by herself. She realized I recognized her (the week before she was interviewed on tv, and the face is iconic), and she just smiled from the distance she passed. Like she was coming down a long side street, and in my opinion, should have had an escort. So, I do not believe in "curses," just a willingness to take chances.
@Foofie,
Foofie wrote:
Miller wrote:
The Kennedy family has a curse on it a mile wide: her father, her mother, her brother, her step-father.
I'm not worried about hand guns in Japan. I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
I read a book a few month's ago. I forgot its title, but the basic thesis was that some families have an inherited trait to take chances that may jeopardize one's safety. The concept was in context of different styles of leadership. Anyway, in crises, this willingness to take chances may make for good leadership, i.e., Kenndy during the Cuban Missile Crisis or Churchill during WWII. And, ten years or so ago, I was right near Tin Pan Alley by Broadway, weekday mid-afternoon, and she was walking to some appointment (obviously) all by herself. She realized I recognized her (the week before she was interviewed on tv, and the face is iconic), and she just smiled from the distance she passed. Like she was coming down a long side street, and in my opinion, should have had an escort. So, I do not believe in "curses," just a willingness to take chances.
I saw her mother, Jackie Kennedy one day in the airport in NYC and she was unbelievable, so simple yet so sophisticated. Lord, that woman was "hot".
@Miller,
In the Kennedy family, the curse extends back to Kathleen Kennedy ( maybe even further ).
Deceased members, who had un-natural deaths ( war , etc ):
Kathleen Kennedy( Red Cross nurse , death in war )
Joseph Kennedy Jr ( fighter pilot, death in war )
JFK ( murdered)
Robert Kennedy ( murdered)
Ted Kennedy ( Death due to brain cancer )
Ted Kennedy's son lost one leg to sarcoma ( bone cancer )
Jackie Kennedy ( death due to lymphoma )
John-John Kennedy ( JFK's son) and his wife ( dead in plane accident )
@Miller,
I've seen a lot of famous people by virtue of the place I lived and worked. I've a slightly sardonic view of all of that. I tend to like Caroline, more or less. I was put off, as many were, by her verbal tic:
you know.
My ex had that for about a month, back when. He said it something like 48,000 times in a few days. He got over it.
Assuming that by now she has ceased usage of that, I'd be fine with her being the ambassador.
@Miller,
Cancer is horrible, but it's not unnatural, a curse sure, to the victims and all the family who suffer the consequences.
War is horrible, people die.
Plane crashes are horrible, they happen, especially if you're a beginner pilot in a storm.
Murder.... absolutely horrible, two brothers from the same family - highly unusual. Mind you, both were shot in a gun crazy nation where many people die from gun shots. Curse? or Statistically probable? Inevitable perhaps?
@Ceili,
I've never seen any family that had so much misfortune. The thoughts of both JFK and RFK being murdered simply chills my mind.
I hope all goes well with Caroline in Japan.
@Miller,
Miller wrote:
The Kennedy family has a curse on it a mile wide: her father, her mother, her brother, her step-father.
I'm not worried about hand guns in Japan. I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
What experience or knowledge of communists or radical Muslims in Japan do you have that would make you think she is in more danger there than she would be in the US? I lived in Japan for some years and don't recall any violence perpetrated by either group. Is there any evidence of radical Muslim activity at all in Japan? I think she would be as safe in Japan as anywhere in the world - and safer than in the US.
Japan is now under high alert due to the turmoil in North Korea.
Kerry is set to visit Japan in the near future, probably with his 2nd wife.
@Miller,
Quote:Kerry is set to visit Japan in the near future, probably with his 2nd wife.
If he hurries, he could make the journey with his third wife. Or, wouldn't it be way cool if he went back to #1 in time for the trip.
@Miller,
Quote:I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
Is there any group of "educated" people on the planet who are more ignorant than Americans?
@JTT,
JTT wrote:
Quote:I'm worried about Communists and radical Moslems and what hell they may bring forth.
Is there any group of "educated" people on the planet who are more ignorant than Americans?
There's a large percentage of the Australian population who would be on a par. I'm related to some of them.
Caroline, if she indeed travels to Japan will most likely have the Secret Service plus her own security detail with her. Hopefully that'll be sufficient.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace