Democrat Caroline Kennedy, who is now openly campaigning to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate, spoke out Saturday, saying that she supports gay marriages, for instance. Ms. Kennedy has not yet given a substantial interview to any publication and at recent appearances has declined to answer more than a few questions from reporters. But on Saturday, Ms. Kennedy’s spokesman provided written answers to some questions posed.

Answering questions from Politico through her spokesman, Kennedy said she supports gay marriage and Bush's approval of an auto bailout. She opposed the war in Iraq and refused to say whether she will support the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in 2009.

First of all, she "supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples," her spokesman wrote. Obama supports civil unions for gay couples, but not marriage rights. "Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples," Kennedy spokesman Stefan Friedman said.

She and Obama do agree on one big thing - both feel invading Iraq was a big mistake. Clinton, who is on deck to become Obama's secretary of state, voted in favor of the 2003 invasion. Obama was an early opponent of the war, but was not a member of the Senate at the time of the vote. "Caroline opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning," her spokesman wrote. "She supports President-elect Obama's plan to work with our military leaders to begin a responsible withdrawal."

Kennedy stumbled in her first public appearance Wednesday in Syracuse. She met privately for an hour with local politicians, and then spoke to reporters for all of 30 seconds before being hustled away by an aide. Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll said she "seemed pleasant" and added: "I think she's certainly well-read."

It was the same day Schumer appeared at Hancock International Airport with several winners of his lottery for tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. While Kennedy's unannounced visit to Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll at City Hall attracted a mob of reporters from across the state, Schumer was content to speak to a handful of local reporters at the airport.

However former federal prosecutor Dan French said she would return to Syracuse to talk more. "People need to let her jump into this," French said. "She's doing everything she can to meet people and hear from people, and she's just begun."

In a trip to Buffalo that followed the one to Syracuse, Kennedy publicly announced her interest in succeeding Clinton, who has been nominated to become U.S. secretary of state in the new Obama administration. But all in all, the trip did not get good reviews.

Among other subjects she tackled: gun control and death penalty. Regarding the first, she supports gun control efforts and specifically wants restored the ban on assault weapons that was lifted during the Bush administration. Regarding the latter, she definitely opposes the death penalty.