Caroline Kennedy for all her fame does not belong in the U.S. Senate. [The author recalls a personal encounter with Kennedy prior to her bid for Sen. Clinton's seat.]

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John Kennedy was the hero of my youth. He was elected president the fall I began college. The first two years of the Kennedy administration were a dream for those of us in college and his murder a year later was devastating.

In November 1964, the first anniversary of President Kennedy’s death, I put together a small exhibit noting the event, photos from my magazine collection, which was organized through the Humanities Department and displayed during November in the Humanities Reading Room of the Liberal Arts Building.

Entitled, "One Shining Moment", the show caused such a sensation on campus that I proposed to the University Library that a larger, campus-wide exhibit be held the following year. The Library agreed and so for the next twelve months I worked closely with various university departments to organize what would eventually become the single largest exhibition in the history of the University of Arizona.

Ironically, Ted Sorensen, JFK’s chief White House counselor, spoke at the university in November 1965 when the exhibit was on display. Entitled "The Pictorial Kennedy", it occupied more than one thousand square feet of space and was displayed in five buildings on campus.

When I took Sorensen through the exhibit he quipped to me that in all of his travels across the nation he had not seen anything like it. It was a unique effort, made all the more compelling by the fact that the entire university community was behind the exhibit resulting in a show that was so prominent it was covered by the local newspaper and the university year book devoted a page to it in its 1966 edition.

In 1975 the University of Arizona donated the exhibit to the John Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. I received a letter from its director, Dan H. Fenn, Jr., and a correspondence between us began.

In 1979, two weeks before the dedication of the Kennedy Library, I traveled to Boston to meet with Dan Fenn and he was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the new Library as well as invite me to his home for dinner. During the tour of the Library, Dan introduced me to Dave Powers, JFK’s closest associate, and Steve Smith, JFK’s brother-in-law.

Years later, in 2005, in the Bay Area where I lived, I would have the opportunity to meet Caroline Kennedy at a book signing and luncheon in San Francisco.

I discussed the matter with Dan Fenn, who had become a good friend, and he alerted me to the fact that Ms. Kennedy was extremely shy and did not wish to discuss her father.

Since I was making small films at the time and had produced a tribute to President Kennedy as well as Jacqueline Kennedy, two films Dan Fenn had and which he liked very much, we discussed whether or not I should give Caroline Kennedy DVDs of the films.

Dan did not think I should give them to her at the book signing/luncheon event. The book signing, however, turned out to be a shockingly dismal affair.

It was poorly organized and Ms. Kennedy was not presented in a manner that instilled enthusiasm in the crowd who had been waiting for her arrival more than a hour.

Ms. Kennedy appeared without notice and was seated to sign copies of her latest book of poetry for children. She should have at least said a few words to the crowd, thanking us for coming, but she did not.

She was seated quickly at a table where we lined up silently to have copies of her book signed. The entire event was conducted with a dour silence that was shocking.

Ms. Kennedy never said a word nor did she even smile. In fact, she made a point of not looking at the person standing before her as she signed books.

I found the whole affair so shabby that I skipped the luncheon deciding that the $95 fee was at least for a good cause and went around the corner where I consumed a much deserved meal at McDonald’s.

As I reflected on the experience of the book signing, I wondered how Caroline Kennedy, a member of perhaps the most famous family in the world, could have been such a public relations disaster when her family was renowned for its public relations acumen.

Worse still, was her poor appearance. After looking at photos of the impeccable Kennedys for years, I was stunned to discover that Caroline Kennedy had no style at all and in fact did not seem to care the least bit how she dressed or how she looked.

Indeed, she looked so awful that if I ran into her on the street I would never have recognized her. I came away from the event with the utter belief that Caroline Kennedy had none of the qualities that made her parents so famous and that she was better off out of the limelight.

Needless to say, when she decided she wanted to be appointed to Hillary Clinton’s vacated senate seat, I was dubious at best.

However, as her campaign for the seat developed I, could see that her inability to present herself in a favorable light was as apparent as her performance at the dismal book signing.

Indeed, the interview published in The New York Times clearly demonstrates her aversion to both the press and the public. And the fact that it has come to light that she has not even voted is further indication to me, at least, that she does not take politics seriously.

Why in heaven’s name she wishes to take a seat in the U.S. senate is an absolute mystery to me and I’m certain it must be a mystery to those who know her.

Frankly, I think her decision has not been thought out nor do I believe she really knows what she is getting into. For one thing, she doesn’t even have a good PR person by her side guiding her through the first stage of political life, her appearance on the national stage.

It almost seems that like many others in the country today, Caroline Kennedy has been caught up in Obamamania, the current euphoria that will soon end when the new administration takes office and the realities of the world come crashing to Earth.

Caroline Kennedy does not belong in the United States Senate. Her name alone is not enough to make her the kind of senator New York should have.

There are far more qualified candidates for the office and I hope the governor of New York selects one of them.

Authors Bio:
I am retired from the entertainment industry however I work for an agent reading scripts. He also represents my own writing. I am divorced and live in Walnut Creek, California. I graduated from the University of Arizona in 1966 with a degree in English. I first went to New York City where I joined a top promotion firm then to Burbank at NBC where I produced promotion. I then went to Wolper where I was also in promotion and worked with David Seltzer who wrote "The Omen". At the Hollywood Reporter I was the special editions editor and produced the issue on the French film industry.