Passing the Torch

A father's legacy rests heavily on the shoulders of his daughter; although in this case it appears the daughter's head rests lightly on the shoulder of a dad.

This week's objet d'eBay features daughter Caroline Kennedy and then-President John F. Kennedy chillaxing on their boat, the Honey Fitz (named for JFK grandpa and the clan's political progenitor, John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald). For years Caroline has remained at a remove from the spotlight and seemed to avoid stepping over the line and into the family business. (Uncle Ted is the senator from Massachusetts; cousin Patrick is a Rhode Island congressman; cousin Kathleen is the former Maryland Lt. Gov ... and the only prominent Kennedy to support Sen. Clinton over Sen. Obama during the primaries ... and there are other Kennedys scattered elsewhere.)

However, at age 50, Caroline Kennedy seems prepared to stop battling the legacy of her father — slain by an assassin's bullet on Nov. 22, 1963, days before she turned 6 — and step even further into the limelight. She was a force for the presidential aspirations of Barack Obama and has now offered more than a passing interest in being nominated to the New York senate seat being given up by Hillary Clinton. Her father served seven years in the Senate (1953-1960), beginning at age 36, in a seat many said Caroline's grandpa, bootlegger and political kingmaker Joseph Patrick, bought for him.

If Caroline does take a senate desk years after her father it will involve no money passing hands, only the passing of the baton from father to child ... and the child finally being willing to take the handoff.