Caroline Kennedy Flubs, You Know, Interviews, You Know

Caroline Kennedy's quest for a seat in the United States Senate suffered a serious setback during a series of interviews over the weekend that was less than impressive. She demonstrated an annoying speech pattern revealing inexperience and lack of preparation.

The New York Daily News mocked Caroline Kennedy's tendency to use the phrase "you know" as a punctuation mark. By the count of the New York Daily News, Caroline Kennedy used the phrase "you know" two hundred times in an interview with the Daily News, a hundred and thirty times in an interview with the New York Times, and eighty times in an interview with TV station New York 1.

Caroline Kennedy's use of the phrase "you know" in answering questions shows a lack of preparation that would be astonishing for someone running for City Council, not to mention wanting an appointment to the United States Senate. Most politicians have their talking points practiced to such an extent that they can repeat them effortlessly. Some politicians are even so fast on their feet that they don't even need talking points.

Caroline Kennedy certainly has not mastered the ancient political art of not answering the question, but answering the question that she wanted asked. For instance, when asked about something like her views on abortion, the politician can respond with something like, "That's a very interesting question, which is related to the real need to increase money for AIDS research."

Some experts in public speaking suggest that this tendency to use "you know" on the part of Caroline Kennedy is a sign of inexperience. The "you know" tic can be solved by training and practice. One expert even suggested that Caroline Kennedy watch tapes of her father, President John F. Kennedy, who was a master of public speaking.

The problem for Caroline Kennedy is that this training and practice should have happened before she suddenly leaped into the deep end of the political pool. First impression count in national politics and Caroline Kennedy as made a poor first impression.