Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Update From Politico:

Hillary Clinton and John Cornyn, who’s delaying her floor confirmation vote, have been having a fairly heated (that is to say, intense but cordial) discussion just out of earshot under the Washington statue in the rotunda. Lots of hand gestures, back and forth and her squeezing his forearm.

CBS:

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Hillary Rodham Clinton will not be confirmed as secretary of state Tuesday because of a single senator’s objection.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Republican John Cornyn of Texas has indicated he will block a move to confirm Clinton by a unanimous floor vote later in the day.

But Manley also said there would be a roll call vote Wednesday. And he predicted that “she will receive overwhelming bipartisan support” at that time.

The Senate does plan to confirm several of President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet by unanimous vote later Tuesday.

Neither Cornyn nor his office was immediately available for comment.

In a letter to constituents on Monday, Clinton says they gave her the “opportunity of a lifetime” in her eight years in Congress.

Clinton, the former first lady, while acknowledging she was not always a New Yorker, says she will always be one. She and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have a home in the lower Hudson Valley.

Writes Clinton, “We’ve worked hard to find common ground and deliver creative solutions, often against tough obstacles and even tougher odds.

“Serving the people of New York has been the opportunity of a lifetime to continue what has been the work of my life. It is been an honor and a privilege to be your advocate and to make real strides for those who have for too long felt as if they were invisible.”

Meanwhile, the whispers have become louder that Gov. David Paterson has come to a U.S. Senate seat decision — and that it’s Caroline Kennedy.

The governor claims he hasn’t made up his mind, just whittled down the list a little.

In public, Paterson is still being coy about who he’ll pick to replace Clinton.

“I’m actually, I think, narrowing the field to about half the people who are involved,” Paterson said.

If you read the tea leaves there are reasons why some of the main contenders could be eliminated.

“It would be a great honor to be selected but it’s a great honor to serve in the House of Representatives,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-Manhattan-Queens.

Congresswoman Maloney has just been given the prestigious chairmanship of the joint House-Senate Economic Committee, so it’s possible she’s no longer on the list.

And although the polls make Attorney General Andrew Cuomo the favorite, sources tell CBS 2 HD the governor is concerned about who would replace him, a decision that’s out of the governor’s hands.

Another leading contender is Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. He might not fit the demographic profile the governor is looking for.

“There were 17 women in the U.S. Senate, when the woman population is 52 percent and without Hillary there would be 16 so I think it’s a valid point,” Paterson said.

Many on the short list think the governor is all but certain to pick Kennedy, especially since after all the speculation it would be a spectacular “dis” to her and her powerful family to pass her over. But others in the know said it’s not a done deal.

“I think it’s a hard decision and he’s giving it a whole lot of thought,” Sen. Charles Schumer said. “But I don’t think he’s in any single place right yet.”

Added Rep. Charles Rangel, D-Harlem: “I’ve always said that the best candidate in this race was the person who Gov. Paterson would pick.”

And while New Yorkers await his decision, the governor is enjoying the suspense. He says all the speculation keeps reporters from asking about the economy and how he’ll put New Yorkers back to work.