Kennedy is president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, board member of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and served as Chief Executive in the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education, which helped raise millions of dollars for public schools.

Some have dismissed the substance of Kennedy’s charitable work, but Paul Kirk, a friend and chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, called Kennedy an “impact player,” adding that her ability to successfully juggle all her responsibilities reveals much about her.

“You have to be have a strong work ethic and be able to move from one issue to another,” to do what Kennedy does, he said. “That’s just one parallel with what a legislator has to do.”

Neither Kennedy nor Clinton had held political office prior to deciding to campaign for Senate, though Clinton was an important figure in her husband, Bill’s, Arkansas governorship and his presidential administration. Clinton points to this unofficial advisory role in both as part of her more than 30 years of experience in public service.

Perhaps most importantly from a campaign perspective, however, is the fact that both Clinton and Kennedy hail from politically powerful families.

As Steven M. Schneider, a political science professor at the State University of New York Institute of Technology noted, Clinton and Kennedy “came to be perceived as plausible candidates through their connections.”

Kennedy, Schneider added, in some ways “fits the tradition of the New York state senator,” noting many have not been traditional politicians that rose up the state ranks but rather have relied on a national profile to gain their seat.

The power of name recognition is nothing to scoff at, said Robert J. Spitzer, Chair of the Political Science Department at SUNY Cortland.

“In any election, anywhere, anytime it’s always an advantage if you can begin your race and already have people know who you are.”

Recent polling of New Yorkers backs this up — a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Dec. 8-9 had Kennedy as the top choice of Democrats at 44 percent, while a Siena Poll conducted Dec. 8-11 had Kennedy second among preferred selections, at 23 percent, following Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, himself the scion of one of the state’s best known political families.

Political and social connections are also crucially important in politics, the two political scientists said, and Kennedy has both of those in spades. Her friendship with President-elect Obama, borne out of her campaign endorsement last spring and her help vetting his vice presidential selection, could be particularly useful.

“In many respects what makes her candidacy plausible is Barack Obama ’s presidency,” said Spitzer. He explained that she can sell herself as part of the new generation of leaders, with a different perspective than a traditional politician.

Kennedy and Clinton do diverge in some notable ways, however. Kennedy has shied away from the political spotlight until recently, while Clinton has been smack dab in the middle of it since 1992.

Kennedy is also less of a career woman than Clinton has been — the latter famously commented that she was not the kind of woman who “stayed home and baked cookies,” while Kennedy’s “nine to five job has been as a wife and a mother,” said Kirk.

If she does in fact get the Senate appointment, Kennedy is going to have to become more like Clinton in order to defend the seat in 2010.

“If she’s appointed ... there may be a feeling that it’s being given to her simply as an entitlement,” said Spitzer.

To combat those doubts, Kennedy will have to do exactly what Clinton did in 2000, campaigning tirelessly on the ground and reaching out to upstate voters, in particular.

“Unless [Kennedy’s] plan is simply to be a placeholder, that is what she is going to have to do,” Spitzer said.