Kerry's Woman Problem

Heinz Kerry’s "Shove it" outburst causes concern. The Hill reports:

Her remarks, to the editorial page editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, delivered before Pennsylvania delegates, were seen as a distraction at a time when the Kerry-Edwards campaign is trying to project an image of total unity and harmony.

The comments also have little to do with her core convention role, which is to highlight her husband’s personal qualities and leadership ability.

In a convention environment without much hard news, even the slightest unscripted comment attracts attention.

Mary Beth Cahill, Kerry’s campaign manager, was bombarded with questions about the “shove it” comment during a breakfast with more than 60 journalists hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

[. . .]

As yesterday’s meeting between the Kerry campaign officials and the journalists ended, one reporter commented, “The ultimate irony would be if the story line from this breakfast is that John Kerry has a woman problem.”

Heinz-Kerry told the Associated Press:

"I always say what I think," Heinz Kerry told "The Early Show" in an interview aired Tuesday on CBS. "I don't go out and say it willy-nilly for its own sake, but if called upon I do."

The Kerry campaign missed a great opportunity with Heinz-Kerry's "shove it" outburst. If Heinz-Kerry apologized to the reporter, the Kerry campaign could have highlighted Heinz-Kerry's talk on restoring civility to politics. She should have apologized, even if she wasn't wrong. Now the civility talk is just another notch on the flip flop tally.

Kerry's woman problem isn't limited to Heinz-Kerry's "shove it" outburst. The Christian Science Monitor reports that Heinz-Kerry doesn't fit the classic template for American political wives:

Botox injections? Of course. Actually, she says she may need another soon. A pre-nup with John Kerry to protect her $500 million-plus fortune? Absolutely, a must. Her husband's running mate? "I have to say that John Edwards is very beautiful," she says.

[. . .]

Born in Africa, fluent in five languages, her unruly hair a copper color more common with women half her age, she strikes a figure rarely seen in US politics.

[. . .]

Take her name. She freely admits that her legal name is, and will remain, Teresa Heinz. The addition of "Kerry," she says, was simply a nod to the needs of the campaign. "Now, politically, it's going to be Teresa Heinz Kerry," she once told a woman's magazine. "But I don't give a [expletive], you know? There are other things to worry about."

[. . .]

Then, for some, there's the issue of her "worldliness." Maria Teresa Thierstein Simoes-Ferreira was born in 1938 to Portuguese parents in colonial Mozambique. Her father, a doctor, used to take her on his calls in the African bush. Later, when she was studying Romance languages in South Africa, she marched against apartheid when it was a dangerous thing to do. She met her first husband, the ketchup heir H. John Heinz III, who would later become a Republican senator from Pennsylvania, while studying languages in Geneva.

[. . .]

Heinz Kerry remained an active Republican until 2002. She still believes the government should harness the forces of the marketplace for the public good, and as a Catholic, she has sometimes spoken critically of abortion.

If Heinz-Kerry doesn't fall victim to another episode of Hoof and Mouth disease she has the potential to be more of an asset than a problem for Kerry. The contrast between the candidate's wives couldn't be more striking. One an elementary school teacher, librarian, and "traditional" first lady and the other, well more "worldly." The Christian Science Monitor concludes:

"Democratic voters in the East and in California likely will be drawn to her [Heinz-Kerry] independent, outspoken style," says Mr. Hilty, "while the Bible Belt folks apparently prefer the Laura Bush good-mother, good-wife style."