I do agree Robert Kennedy would be good at EPA.  and given his difficulies with his voice I think that full scale campaigning in 2010 and 2012 would be difficult.

Kirsten of course is just finished her first term.  And a statewide race would be very demanding. But she is upstate and a woman.  but Carolyn Maloney is also a women and a very good fundraiser as well.  She of course, unlike Kirsten,  hasn't had a contested race since she first ran.  While it's wonderful that Kirsten acted like she took nothing for granted in her 2008 race, having campaigned for her in 2006 amongst Republicans, I had no doubt she was going to be in great shape...they loved her.  But she has been very diligent in community outreach...but it's a whole state and she has really young children.

Tom Suozzi is handsome and well liked on Long Island....though his public statements on choice, in a state with a very strong record on keeping abortion legal for all women...young and poor most specifically...give a cause for concern.

Oh how cool, a Kennedy and a Cuomo - maybe we can find a Roosevelt or a Vanderbilt too? I hear Biden's kid turned down his seat - maybe Chelsea Clinton could step in somewhere?

The party of nepotism - all in the family? Well no, the Romneys and Bushes keep it balanced.

RFK Jr. would be a horrible choice at EPA.  He doesn't understand the science well enough to get that there's no link between mercury and autism, though he keeps pushing one.  He may be passionate, but we need somebody who gets the science first and foremost.

Kirsten Gillibrand is pretty good (and hot!) except for the whole Blue Dog thing.

What about her?  Wasn't she going to run back in 2000 to replace Moynahan before Clinton got into the race?

Does she no longer want the job?  It seems that she should get first dibs.

Depends on where the Democratic party thinks it can go under Obama.

Cuomo, if he is cut from his father's clothes, should be about as liberal as Kennedy Jr. Want a centrist female ala Clinton, go for Gillibrand. Given that the Democratic party rejected the old Clinton brand of center-right politics during the election, then one of the two former candidates look promising.

With Ted Kennedy likely looking at his last term, another Kennedy in the Senate would be a plus.

As New Yorker I can say definitively that Robert Kennedy is not too liberal for the state at large. New York is an overwhelmingly Democratic state (62 percent of the vote for Obama) and will likely elect any Democrat that Paterson picks to a full term. The New York Republican party is decimated, and has no prospect of recovering anytime in the near future.

I hate appointments for the senate.. why can't they just have an election?

Cuomo is a convincing fake populist, so he should slide in nicely to Hill's spot.

    Todd wrote: "Whoever is chosen needs to be able to appeal to the areas of the state that have traditionally been most difficult for Democrats."

    Why in the world is that so? New York is among the most Democratic states in the Union. According to the 2008 presidential exit poll, fully half self-identified as Democrats, and only 26% as Republicans; 31% self-identified as Liberal, 43% Moderate, and only 25% Conservative; only 71% of the voters were White non-Hispanic; and 87% of its vote comes from urban or suburban areas, and only 13% from rural areas.

    Seriously, Todd, what possible justification is there for your statement that the appointee must be able to appeal to the areas of the state that have traditionally been most difficult for Democrats? Why can't we just kill them by turning out our base?

Not Gillibrand. We need her in that House seat until after the census, when we can redistrict and make it easier for a Democrat to win. Right now, that's the most GOP-leaning Congressional district in the state, much more so than the three remaining districts that still have Republicans in them.

I WANT TO FIX HILLARY CLINTON FOR STAYING WITH BILL WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED HIM OVER:

1.  HIS ANTIMASTURBATION
   
2.  HIS CHEATING ADULTERY
   

ALSO IM AGAINST HER NOT LISTENING TO ME ABOUT VOTING AGAINST THE ANTI POKER BILL (PHONE CALLS, LETTERS) AND RECEIVING FUNDING FROM HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY OVERCHARGING AND AGE DISCRIMINATING.  I ALSO BELIEVE LIKE JOE LIEBERMAN THAT BILL CLINTON SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED AFTER ILLEGALLY CHEATING ON HIS WIFE.

One quick note: Todd's article refers to Suozzi as a Nassau County businessman. He's actually the county executive - the top official in a county of more than a million people.

I'm not familiar with his positions on any federal issues, other than what appears to be a moderate stance on abortion - one which is fine with me, based on nrafter530's comments. All of his work to date has been on state and local issues - focusing on vitally-needed Albany reforms.