Clinton Offers Gillibrand Helpful Advice at Congratulatory Lunch (AP video)

Gov. Paterson, Secretary of State Clinton, Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, and Senator Schumer on Sunday. Photo credits: Kathy Willens, AP via the NY Times

UPDATE:

Watch Gillibrand and Clinton at Lunch with Paterson and Schumer (AP video)

Evidently, the anonymous Democratic consultant in the news account mentioned below was a Kennedy or Obama supporter intent on putting Gov. Paterson in his place for daring to pick Congresswoman Kirstin Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton’s vacated senate seat instead of Caroline Kennedy.

Just two days ago, Hakim and Confessore at the NY Times quoted an unnamed Democratic consultant accusing Gov. Paterson of alienating the Kennedys, the Cuomos, and the Clintons by naming Congresswoman Kirstin Gillibrand to Hillary Clinton’s senate seat.

The consultant said the governor had angered Secretary of State Clinton by his “willingness to consider Ms. Kennedy in the first place after she endorsed Barack Obama in the presidential race last year.”

It’s no wonder our rumor-mongering consultant chose to remain anonymous. He or she obviously forgot Clinton’s well-publicized appeal to her supporters early on to not oppose Kennedy’s bid for the recently vacated senate seat. Moreover, the consultant was not in the loop for the congratulatory lunch described minutes ago in the NY Times by Sharon Otterman:

“Ms. Gillibrand spoke to reporters after finishing a congratulatory lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York with the newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles E. Schumer, the state’s senior senator, and New York Governor David A. Paterson, who appointed Ms. Gillibrand on Friday to fill Ms. Clinton’s vacated senate seat.

“Ms. Gillibrand said that the four discussed foreign policy and how to best stimulate the flagging economy, and Ms. Clinton had offered her some practical advice on how to be an effective senator. The governor joined Ms. Gillibrand at the news conference that followed, but Ms. Clinton and Mr. Schumer did not appear.

‘“The senator knows that she has very big shoes to fill,” Governor Paterson said, adding that while the state would miss Ms. Clinton, “we will be in a position where we are well served, because Ms. Gillibrand, as a congresswoman, has been outstanding.”’

According to the article, Gillibrand went on to say:

‘“The bulk of Ms. Clinton’s advice to her was about how to organize her office to best serve the many requests that come from constituents across the state. She said she would follow Ms. Clinton’s example so that she could “hit the ground running.”’

Gillibrand will be sworn into office on Tuesday.