I think Caroline Kennedy always held an "above the fray" type of persona. We all grew up seeing the pictures of her and her little brother, John, playing under Pres. Kennedy's desk. Her mother was the epitome of grace and lived a quiet life of class.
The tragedies of the family made all of us feel such sympathy for Caroline. First, the horror of her father's death will forever be etched in America's memory. Then the sad death of her mother. During all of this America was fascinated with her incredibly good looking brother John, who chose to start a magazine (which I subscribed to and really enjoyed) instead of seek public office. With neither Caroline or John involved in politics for themselves, they made it much easier for even us on the Republican side to like them. John was more like a movie star than anything else. The tabloids followed his every muscled move, and then there was his fairy tale wedding to his beautiful blond bride.
Caroline may have been in the background of her magnetic brother, but she was respected. Then that final tragedy of her brother's plane crash. It very well could have been written as a movie. Beautiful, rich, and privileged, the couple we had all loved to watch, was gone.
Caroline was the last survivor of her famous family, and she seemed to handle it with the grace that her mother taught her. She had devoted her life to being a wife, mother, and raising funds for the New York City public schools. No controversy. No real politics involved. She was still the princess of Camelot.
It's a shame that she had throw off that crown to publicly express a desire for the Senate seat left by Hillary Clinton. Now she is subject to what all politicians are subject to. It's that icky, mud slinging, power hungry politics that make us all sick. Caroline can no longer be "above the fray." She is now a part of the fray. I read at Gawker that Caroline had used her influence to make sure some exploits of her children as teenagers were not published. That will no longer be possible. Now we know her material wealth, how she hasn't always been a consistent voter, and some tabloids are hinting at an affair.
I'm thinking she will regret giving up her crown to lower herself into the dirty business of politics. Grace and class are not often seen in that business.
The princess we knew, is gone.
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