Kathleen Parker asks:

It is a legitimate question: Why is the resume-thin Caroline Kennedy being treated seriously as a prospective appointee to the U.S. Senate when the comparatively more-qualified Gov. Sarah Palin received such a harsh review?

Link.

Answer #1: because we don't really care who our Senators are. Their jobs have no immediacy. They require no actual leadership qualities, no core skills. We could elect a blind squirrel to the U.S. Senate, give it a decent staff, and there'd be very little difference in output between that office and, say, Herb Kohl's.

Answer #2: she isn't being treated seriously except by the media, which responds to the name "Kennedy" the same way I respond to my wife spreading her homemade fudge frosting over her homemade chocolate cake.

Answer #3: for the same reason that the resume-thin Barack Obama was treated seriously as a prospective presidential candidate – they're Democrats.