Gov. David Paterson: Risk in Passing Over Kennedy for Senate Seat - NYTimes.com

More at NYTimes.com: “It has been opined on chat shows and blogs, insisted on publicly and whispered privately. It has somehow been concluded — with delight in some quarters and aggravation in others — that Gov. David A. Paterson has little choice but to appoint Caroline Kennedy, she of the royal political lineage, fund-raising prowess and pure star power, to the United States Senate.

“I’ve heard this a hundred times: ‘He has to pick her,’ ” said Erick C. Mullen, a Democratic political consultant who has worked extensively in New York. “Or what? If he doesn’t pick her, what happens?””

--- What happens is he takes it in the rear in fund-raising, assuming a viable alternative candidate comes forward for Governor.