Hatch, Dodd: Consider Vicki to fill late husband’s seat

Add Vicki Kennedy to the short list of candidates Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) could appoint to fill the late-Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) now-vacant seat, suggested Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) this morning.

“She’s a very brilliant lawyer, she’s a very solid individual,” Hatch said of Vicki during CNN’s State of the Union. “She certainly made a difference in Ted’s life.”

Hatch’s subtle endorsement was later echoed by Kennedy’s former colleague and close friend, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who told host John King, “Whatever Vicki wants to do, I’m in her corner.”

Of course, both senators’ suggestion assumes Massachusetts lawmakers will return the power of interim appointments to the governor. The state legislature stripped that ability from then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in 2004, fearing he would appoint a Republican to fill Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) seat, should he have won the presidential election.