The Times is totally laying into its publisher's close friend Caroline Kennedy today! And on a day when so many people will be reading political news! Err, hmmm....

Actually, the paper isn't out far on the limb. It's merely passing along the fact that the conventional wisdom in Albany has swung toward detesting Kennedy as entitled and presumptuous rather than being positively infatuated with her as an exciting new bauble named (ZOMG) Kennedy. How about a roundup of hate?

  • "The governor is frustrated and chagrined... because he believes that he extended Ms. Kennedy the chance to demonstrate her qualifications but that her operatives have exploited the opportunity to convey a sense that she is all but appointed already."
  • Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: "If I were the governor, I would look and question whether this is the appointment I would want to make, whether her first obligation might be to the mayor of the City of New York rather than the governor who would be appointing her."
  • "Her refusal to say over the weekend whether she would back a Democratic candidate next year, when Mr. Bloomberg will seek re-election as an independent, set off intense reaction among some in the party."
  • A passive-aggressive supporter, Nassau County executive Thomas Suozzi: "The way that her handlers and strategists are pushing her and trying to box in the governor is damaging the reputation of someone that we all care about."

Reasonably skeptical. But after putting a policy Q&A with Kennedy on its front page, the Times buried this story ran on page A19.