Just how much of an unknown is Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Gov. David Paterson’s selection for filling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s vacated Senate seat? Well, apparently so much of an unknown that Hillary isn’t sure whether her replacement – whom she has referred to as a “dear friend” – is named Kirsten or Kristen. Check out the embarrassing statement that Hillary released to congratulate Gillibrand:
Today I congratulate Kirsten Gillibrand on her appointment by Governor Paterson to serve as Senator from New York. Kristen is an intelligent and dedicated public servant and a dear friend.
I’ve checked multiple news sources, and every version of the statement that I can find carries this Kirsten/Kristen error.
No need to draw broader implications about what this says about Clinton or her staff, other than the obvious: an identical statement for a woman named “Caroline” would have never contained this kind of error. Thus, we have yet another example – however nit-picky – of the “storybook ending” that Jen has correctly highlighted in Gillibrand’s selection.
