First lady contender Teresa Heinz Kerry brings candor to campaign

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Teresa Heinz Kerry isn't good at sound bites. She speaks in paragraphs instead of sentences. Unlike some political wives, she doesn't smile constantly or stick closely to scripted remarks. On this chilly Sunday morning in January, she's come to Detroit's Second Ebenezer Baptist Church to talk about her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Yet she can't help but talk about herself, too. "A woman that has opinions is called opinionated, and a man who has opinions is called smart and well-informed," she tells the worshipers, who nod and offer murmurs of agreement. "It's time to honor women."

<snip>

The day starts early for Kerry, who's not a morning person. Running a little late, she descends in an elevator to the lobby of Greektown's Atheneum Hotel, looking trim and casually chic in a gray pinstriped pantsuit and stiletto-heeled shoes, a yellow sweater thrown over her shoulders. At each church, she tells the mostly African-American congregations that she grew up in colonial East Africa and marched against apartheid as a college student in South Africa.

<snip>

Born and raised in Mozambique, she was the daughter of a Portuguese doctor and often accompanied her father on his rounds. At campaign stops, she recounts that the first time she ever saw her father vote, he was 71. "We had no civil rights where I come from, so I fight hard for those rights," she says.

<snip>

Talking about a first lady's role, she has this to say: "Probably the most important thing a spouse - eventually I hope it's a man - of a president has to do is keep them honest, remember who they are, not let people who'll say anything derail them, keep them strong and healthy and keep them hopeful." This is one topic where it's easy for her to stay on message.

"They keep asking, `Who's your favorite first lady, Wwho are you going to be like,' " she says. "I say I'm going to be me."
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/7736456.htm

[saltpoint]

1. No question --

-- the woman is a class act.

[maxanne]

2. she offended people here

when she spoke last week, calling Howard Dean a liar. I realize there are many who would love to say, "Hey - she's right," but the fact is it's not at all appropriate or classy for her to say. There are a million ways to say someone is a liar, without saying it baldly and angrily.

I'd always been impressed with Theresa Heinz. I was sorry to hear her stoop to that level.

I've met a few of the potential first ladies, and Elizabeth Edwards is by far my favorite.

[DaisyUCSB]

3. Edwards family is great

one of his best assets