It wasn’t just another charity appearance for Caroline Kennedy on Tuesday.

This time, it was philanthropy and politics.

But if the former first daughter was leaning towards becoming a senator, she wasn’t saying anything while making her way into and out of Saint Vincent’s Hospital Tuesday.

Some people at the auction for Saint Vincent’s wondered if Kennedy wants another Camelot chapter in Washington, but hospital staff would not allow such questioning

“We did not allow it,” said Maribeth Welch, a representative for Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers.

But Caroline Kennedy seems to be the only one not offering an opinion on Caroline Kennedy.

Her family isn’t nearly as reluctant. They’re increasingly talking her up and lobbying Governor David Paterson, who will pick Hillary Clinton’s successor.

“She is a completely 100 percent committed public servant, and she’s a woman and she’s a mother. And as a result of that she comes to this position with a unique perspective on life,” said Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Caroline’s first cousin.

But Andrew Cuomo is also in the mix. The attorney general is tied in a new poll with Caroline Kennedy, who happens to be his ex-wife’s cousin.

Cuomo is also favored by the State’s top Republican, Senator Dean Skelos.

“She has to understand that it’s a lot of work to being a US Senator, you have to travel the state, you have to travel to small communities upstate when it’s snowing out. There’s a lot of work to it, it’s not just glamorous,” said Skelos.

And a Kennedy won’t be a deterrent for Republican Congressman Peter King, who said if he raises enough money he’ll run in 2010, when the seat is first up.

Fundraising prowess is also a factor for Paterson as is juggling issues and representing all New Yorkers.

“It would be a person who offers more hope than history and a greater imagination than experience to try to achieve those goals,” said Paterson.

Kennedy is well connected to President-elect Barack Obama, a fact that, sources say, has the governor very open to her if she’s interested.

As for other candidates, Paterson said there have been so many, he can’t remember them all.

Meanwhile, a new poll Tuesday showed New Yorkers are evenly split on who they’d like to see in Hillary Clinton’s senate seat.

In a Marist College poll, Kennedy and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are favored by 25 percent of those surveyed. Another 26 percent are undecided.

Other candidates, including Congresswomen Nydia Velazquez and Carolyn Maloney and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion each polled in single digits.

More Democrats say they would choose Kennedy, with 31 percent favoring her compared to 21 percent for Cuomo.

The poll of 503 registered voters conducted Monday has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

Several more outlying candidates also emerged Tuesday, including longtime teachers union leader Randi Weingarten and actress Fran Drescher.

Source: NY1