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Two other sources Monday confirmed her interest in filling the seat now held by Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton. One source is a senior Democratic operative.
Kennedy's interest in the seat could mean the continuation of a family legacy in the Senate that began 56 years ago with the election of her father as the then-junior senator from Massachusetts.
Her uncle Ted Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1963, and her uncle Robert Kennedy served as New York's junior senator from 1965 until he was assassinated in 1968.
"Remember, [Clinton's] seat in the Senate was once held by Robert Kennedy," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst. "[Caroline Kennedy's] other uncle, Ted Kennedy, is ill right now. If Paterson appoints Caroline Kennedy to the Senate, it means there could be a Kennedy staying in the Senate for quite a long time."
CNN reported earlier this month that Caroline Kennedy had called New York Gov. David Paterson to discuss the possibility of taking the seat.
Paterson has the power to appoint a replacement, who will then face a special election in 2010 to fill out Clinton's term.
One Democratic source close to the Kennedy family told CNN earlier this month Kennedy "is interested to say the least" in the Senate seat and has asked a tight circle of other family friends and political advisers for advice.
Paterson confirmed to CNN last week that Kennedy had called and "asked a few questions" about the expected vacancy.
Before this year, Kennedy generally limited her forays into the public sphere to non-partisan activity, penning books on civil liberties and serving as the de facto guardian of her father's legacy.
But in January, she backed a political candidate for the first time, announcing her endorsement of Obama during the Democratic primary season with an op-ed in the New York Times that drew days of the kind of media attention she has spent her life avoiding.
"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them," she wrote. "But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."
"Apparently she has acquired a taste for politics," Schneider noted. "She wants to be part of this new regime in America, clearly playing a key role in the Senate if she gets that appointment."
There are a slew of high-profile candidates for Clinton's Senate seat -- including New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose last name carries some star power of its own in the Empire State.
But Kennedy's roots in New York run deep. Her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, relocated to New York City after her husband's assassination in 1963, with children Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr.
Caroline Kennedy has also spent most of her life in the city, working there after graduating from Harvard, meeting her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, on the job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and attending Columbia Law School there.
Her most prominent public roles to date involved overseeing her father's presidential library and presenting the annual Profiles in Courage Award.
She's also edited several books, from a volume of children's poetry and an updated edition of her father's book "Profiles in Courage" to a collection of patriotic verse ("A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories, and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love").
Most of her leadership positions have been based in the arts: hosting the annual nationally televised Kennedy Center Honors in Washington and serving as the honorary chairwoman of the American Ballet Theatre, as her mother had.
Still, in late spring and early summer, she was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential candidate -- and more recently as a contender for secretary of education in an Obama Cabinet. But elected office would mark a major shift for Kennedy.
In a 2002 Time magazine interview promoting the updated "Profiles in Courage," Kennedy would not rule out the possibility of a run for public office.
"I don't have any plans to do that right now," she said. "I don't plan ahead. My kids are young, and I'm really happy to be able to be around. But I do care about issues, and I'm interested in them. So I don't see that now, but you know, I have a long life ahead of me."
Kennedy's interest in the seat could mean the continuation of a family legacy in the Senate that began 56 years ago with the election of her father as the then-junior senator from Massachusetts.
Her uncle Ted Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1963, and her uncle Robert Kennedy served as New York's junior senator from 1965 until he was assassinated in 1968.
"Remember, [Clinton's] seat in the Senate was once held by Robert Kennedy," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst. "[Caroline Kennedy's] other uncle, Ted Kennedy, is ill right now. If Paterson appoints Caroline Kennedy to the Senate, it means there could be a Kennedy staying in the Senate for quite a long time."
CNN reported earlier this month that Caroline Kennedy had called New York Gov. David Paterson to discuss the possibility of taking the seat.
Paterson has the power to appoint a replacement, who will then face a special election in 2010 to fill out Clinton's term.
One Democratic source close to the Kennedy family told CNN earlier this month Kennedy "is interested to say the least" in the Senate seat and has asked a tight circle of other family friends and political advisers for advice.
Paterson confirmed to CNN last week that Kennedy had called and "asked a few questions" about the expected vacancy.
Before this year, Kennedy generally limited her forays into the public sphere to non-partisan activity, penning books on civil liberties and serving as the de facto guardian of her father's legacy.
But in January, she backed a political candidate for the first time, announcing her endorsement of Obama during the Democratic primary season with an op-ed in the New York Times that drew days of the kind of media attention she has spent her life avoiding.
"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them," she wrote. "But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."
"Apparently she has acquired a taste for politics," Schneider noted. "She wants to be part of this new regime in America, clearly playing a key role in the Senate if she gets that appointment."
There are a slew of high-profile candidates for Clinton's Senate seat -- including New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose last name carries some star power of its own in the Empire State.
But Kennedy's roots in New York run deep. Her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, relocated to New York City after her husband's assassination in 1963, with children Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr.
Caroline Kennedy has also spent most of her life in the city, working there after graduating from Harvard, meeting her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, on the job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and attending Columbia Law School there.
Her most prominent public roles to date involved overseeing her father's presidential library and presenting the annual Profiles in Courage Award.
She's also edited several books, from a volume of children's poetry and an updated edition of her father's book "Profiles in Courage" to a collection of patriotic verse ("A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories, and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love").
Most of her leadership positions have been based in the arts: hosting the annual nationally televised Kennedy Center Honors in Washington and serving as the honorary chairwoman of the American Ballet Theatre, as her mother had.
Still, in late spring and early summer, she was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential candidate -- and more recently as a contender for secretary of education in an Obama Cabinet. But elected office would mark a major shift for Kennedy.
In a 2002 Time magazine interview promoting the updated "Profiles in Courage," Kennedy would not rule out the possibility of a run for public office.
"I don't have any plans to do that right now," she said. "I don't plan ahead. My kids are young, and I'm really happy to be able to be around. But I do care about issues, and I'm interested in them. So I don't see that now, but you know, I have a long life ahead of me."
