Kerry's Wife Teresa: an Unusual Political Spouse
BOSTON (Reuters) - Worth an estimated $500 million, born in Mozambique, fluent in five languages, outspoken and "sexy," Teresa Heinz Kerry is not your average political spouse.

The wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry also runs a $2 billion foundation named after her late husband, Republican Sen. John Heinz of Pennsylvania, and occasionally bakes her special brownies for the campaign press corps.

She is known to close friends as "Momma T," only recently added Kerry's name to hers and changed her party affiliation to Democratic out of anger at the way Republicans treated Vietnam veteran Max Cleland during his unsuccessful re-election bid to a U.S. Senate seat from Georgia in 2002.

"I'm cheeky; I'm sexy, whatever," she told CBS in a recent interview. "You know, I've got a lot of life inside."

On the campaign trail, the 5-foot-5-inch Heinz Kerry introduces her lanky husband -- who stands almost a foot taller -- in a soft, accented voice. Often Kerry asks for the sound to be turned up.

She alludes to her background, the daughter of a doctor raised under a repressive dictatorship in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique and schooled in racially segregated South Africa.

"Places where I come from, people didn't vote," she said recently in Raleigh, North Carolina, campaigning with the newly named vice presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth, whom she helped "figure out what clothes you need."

Heinz Kerry, 65, admits she is hardly the stereotypical political wife, but says if voters could not accept her, she would have heard about it by now.

She can be outspoken, disclosing her Botox injections, the 20 pounds she says she has gained on the campaign trail, her prenuptial agreement with Kerry and the fact that he was in the shower when he got word of his early wins in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

She is wealthy from her marriage to Heinz, the heir to the Pittsburgh ketchup empire who died in a plane crash and who, she said, was "kind enough to even introduce me to John (Kerry) the day before he was killed."

MERGED FAMILIES
When she and the senator from Massachusetts married at her multimillion dollar waterfront estate in Nantucket in 1995, two families were instantly melded.

Heinz Kerry has three grown sons. Tall, dark and handsome, Chris, 31, was recently named one of People magazine's 50 hottest bachelors. The most politically active of the children, he quit a job at a New York equity firm to join his stepfather's campaign.
Andre Heinz, 34, lives in Sweden, where he is an environmental consultant. He has made a few campaign appearances. John Heinz IV, 37, a blacksmith and teacher who lives in Pennsylvania, has shunned the limelight.

Kerry has two daughters from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. Alexandra, 30, just graduated from film school in Los Angeles, and Vanessa, 27, is studying medicine at Harvard. Both are single and campaign frequently, both with their father and on their own.

Heinz Kerry plans to keep working at the family's philanthropic network if her husband becomes president "because I am allowed to and I will. I would dry up if I didn't."

"I don't want a public policy job," she told Reuters in an interview earlier this year.

Nevertheless, she said she was "a sounding board" for her husband on his selection of Edwards, a former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination and a one-term senator from North Carolina, to fill out the Democratic ticket.

"Her input is important on everything," Kerry told CNN's "Larry King Live." "First of all, she's smart as a whip. Secondly, she's got as much common sense ... (as) everybody that I've ever met."

But the man who will face President Bush in the Nov. 2 election quickly disabused the audience of the notion that Heinz Kerry would be involved in policy matters.

"She doesn't want to be a policy adviser," he said. "She wants to be my wife."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...kerry_family_dc

I'd like to know more about her having been a Republican and then turning Democrat when she married Kerry.

Kerry, Defends Wife's 'Shove It' Comment
POSTED: 10:55 pm EDT July 25, 2004
UPDATED: 2:48 pm EDT July 26, 2004

BOSTON -- Comments made by Teresa Heinz Kerry following a pre-Democratic National Convention event are eliciting plenty of response Monday afternoon.

Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, urged home-state delegates from Pennsylvania to restore a more civil tone to American politics in a speech Sunday night.

"We need to turn back some of the creeping, un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics," Heinz Kerry said during a reception at the Massachusetts Statehouse.

Minutes later, in an exchange that was captured on camera by Channel 4 Action News anchor Scott Baker and his photographer, Heinz Kerry told Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Colin McNickle to "shove it."

McNickle, the Trib's editorial page editor, had asked Heinz Kerry exactly what she meant by the term "un-American." Heinz Kerry said "I didn't say that," then turned to speak with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and others. When she faced McNickle again a few minutes later, he repeated his question. She replied, "You said something I didn't say. Now shove it."

"This was sheer frustration, aimed at a right-wing rag that has consistently and purposely misrepresented the facts in reporting on Mrs. Kerry and her family," Heinz Kerry's spokeswoman, Marla Romash, told Baker.

Kerry, speaking in Orlando, Fla., where he was to hold a town hall meeting Monday, told reporters, "I think my wife speaks her mind appropriately."

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, also defended Kerry's wife.
"I think a lot of Americans are going to say, 'Good for you, you go girl,' and that certainly is how I feel about it," Clinton said.

The Trib released a statement backing McNickle Monday afternoon.

"Colin McNickle did just what any good reporter does -- he asked questions. And the question he posed in this instance was legitimate," said the statement by Editor Frank Craig. "The tape of Teresa Heinz Kerry's speech shows she used the word 'un-American,' even though she denied it. It is unfortunate that she ruined what was an otherwise good message by resorting to exactly the type of tactics she was criticizing."

Before the encounter with McNickle, Heinz Kerry criticized the tone of modern political campaigns in her speech.

"I remember a time when people in political parties in Pennsylvania talked to one another and actually got things done," said Heinz Kerry, whose first husband, Republican Sen. John Heinz of Pennsylvania, was killed in a plane crash in 1991. "We have to go back to those days when we can do things properly, for the people need it."

"My prayers for you, for me, for the country, for the world, are that we keep this at a high level, with dignity, with respect and with a great idealism and courage that took our forefathers to build this great nation," she said.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/3576476/detail.html

:clap: :clap: :clap: GOOD FOR TERESA!!! It's about time someone "STOOD UP" to these RIGHT-WING, PATHETIC, LOW-LIFE, SMALL MINDED, SLANDEROUS, TRUTH TWISTING, HATCHET-MEN(type) asshole's! KEEP UP THE PRESSURE........I say :D "let's put it in their face for a change" :bad: :bad: :bad:




Have a good one.................Andrew Paul


N O T E: Teresa Heinz Kerry was married to the "LATE" ®.Sen. John Heinz who died in a plane crash! TERESA has been given a SECOND CHANCE to make THINGS RIGHT! God bless her :)

He was asking a valid question (asking her to clarify) in response to her "Un-American" comment. I can't believe she denied saying it, hell it is right there in the post if you need to see what she said.

Only person being deceitful is THK. :unsure:

Katie Couric's interview with Heinz Kerry

I beg to differ :good: Please READ Teresa Heinz Kerry's interview with Katie Couric on NBC!

Mrs. Kerry was ANGRY with being MISREPRESENTED by the reporter!
She had every right to be angry!!! These are the facts! Sorry!

Have a nice day :)..................Andrew Paul

Why would I read that when I can read here EXACT words at the time she spoke them? Or I can watch the VIDEO of her speech?

You should do the same so you can be enlightened to the truth!

:?: :?: :?:

:clap: In my opinion? I AGREE with everything that Teresa Heinz Kerry said and am in COMPLETE SUPPORT for her! I also believe that The REPUBLICAN PARTY AND GEORGE BUSH are UN-AMERICAN in their past actions during the last 3 1/2 years! They have LIED repeatedly to the AMERICAN PUBLIC and created an enviroment of PERSONAL SELF FULL-FILLMENT towards thier own cause in total disregard (destroying lives and futures) of MANY FINE AMERICANS across this great land!

This is MY OPINION...................Andrew Paul

Here is Teresa's speech:

Teresa Heinz Kerry
Tuesday July 27, 10:27 pm ET
Democratic National Convention
Tuesday, July 27, 2004

BOSTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a speech by Teresa Heinz Kerry at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, July 27, 2004:

Thank you, Christopher. Your father would be proud of you and your brothers. I love you and all our family.

My name is Teresa Heinz Kerry. And by now I hope it will come as no surprise to anyone that I have something to say.

And tonight, as I have done throughout this campaign I would like to speak to you from my heart. Y a todos los Hispanos, los Latinos; a tous les Americains, Francais et Canadiens; a tutti Italiani; a toda a familia Portugesa e Brazileria; to all my continental African family living in this country, and to all new Americans: I invite you to join our conversation, and together with us work towards the noblest purpose of all: a free, good, and democratic society.

I am grateful for the opportunity to stand before you and say a few words about my husband, John Kerry, and why I firmly believe he should be the next president of the United States.

This is such a powerful moment for me. Like many other Americans, like many of you, and like even more of your parents and grandparents, I was not born in this country. As you have seen, I grew up in East Africa, in Mozambique, in a land that was then under a dictatorship. My father-a wonderful, caring man who practiced medicine for 43 years, and taught me how to understand disease and wellness-only got the right to vote for the first time when he was 71 years old. That's what happens in dictatorships.

As a young woman, I attended Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, which was then not segregated. But I witnessed the weight of apartheid everywhere around me. And so, with my fellow students we marched against its extension into higher education. This was the late 50's, the dawn of the civil rights marches in America. As history records, our efforts in South Africa failed and the Higher Education Apartheid Act was passed. Apartheid tightened its ugly grip, the Sharpsville riots followed, and a short while later Nelson Mandela was arrested and sent to Robin Island.

I learned something then, and I believe it still. There is a value in taking a stand whether or not anyone may be noticing and whether or not it is a risky thing to do. And if even those who are in danger can raise their lonely voices, isn't more required of all of us, in this land where liberty had her birth?

I have a very personal feeling about how special America is, and I know how precious freedom is. It is a sacred gift, sanctified by those who have lived it and those who have died defending it. My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called "opinionated," is a right I deeply and profoundly cherish. My only hope is that, one day soon, women-who have all


earned the right to their opinions-instead of being labeled opinionated, will
be called smart or well-informed, just as men are.

Tonight I want to remember my mother's warmth, generosity, wisdom, and hopefulness, and thank her for all the sacrifices she made on our behalf, like so many other mothers. This evening, I want to acknowledge and honor the women of this world, whose wise voices for much too long have been excluded and discounted. It is time for the world to hear women's voices, in full and at last.

In the past year, I have been privileged to meet with Americans all across this land. They voiced many different concerns, but one they all seemed to share was about America's role in the world-what we want this great country of ours to stand for.

To me, one of the best faces America has ever projected is the face of a Peace Corps volunteer. That face symbolizes this country: young, curious, brimming with idealism and hope-and a real honest compassion. Those young people convey an idea of America that is all about heart and creativity, generosity and confidence-a practical, can-do sense and a big, big smile. For many generations of people around the globe, that is what America has represented. A symbol of hope, a beacon brightly lit by the optimism of its people-people coming from all over the world.

Americans believed they could know all there is to know, build all there is to build, break down any barrier, tear down any wall. We sent men to the moon, and when that was not far enough, we sent Galileo to Jupiter, we sent Cassini to Saturn, and Hubble to touch the very edges of the universe at the very dawn of time. Americans showed the world what can happen when people believe in amazing possibilities.

And, that, for me, is the spirit of America-the America you and I are working for in this election. It is the America that people all across this nation want to restore-from Iowa to California, from Florida to Michigan, from Washington State to my home state of Pennsylvania. It is the America the world wants to see, shining, hopeful, and bright once again. And that is the America that my husband John Kerry wants to lead.

John believes in a bright future. He believes we can, and we will, invent the technologies, new materials, and conservation methods of the future. He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil, but also that our economy will forever become independent of this need. We can, and we will, create good, competitive, and sustainable jobs while still protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the health of our children, because good environmental policy is good economics.

John believes that we can, and we will, give every family and every child access to affordable health care, a good education, and the tools to become self-reliant. John Kerry believes we must, and we should, recognize the immense value of the caregivers in our country-those women and men who nurture and care for children, for elderly parents, for family members in need. These are the people who build and support our most valuable assets-our families. Isn't it time we began working to give parents more opportunity to be with their children, and to afford to have a family life?

With John Kerry as president, we can, and we will, protect our nation's security without sacrificing our civil liberties. In short, John believes we can, and we must, lead in the world-as America, unique among nations, always should-by showing the face, not of our fears, but of our hopes.

John is a fighter. He earned his medals the old-fashioned way, by putting his life on the line for his country. No one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will-and he will always be first in the line of fire.

But he also knows the importance of getting it right. For him, the names of too many friends inscribed in the cold stone of the Vietnam Memorial testify to the awful toll exacted by leaders who mistake stubbornness for strength. That is why, as president, my husband will not fear disagreement or dissent. He believes that our voices-yours and mine-must be the voices of freedom. And if we do not speak, neither does she.

In America, the true patriots are those who dare speak truth to power. The truth we must speak now is that America has responsibilities that it is time for us to accept again.

With John Kerry as president, global climate change and other threats to the health of our planet will begin to be reversed. With John Kerry as president, the alliances that bind the community of nations and that truly make our country and the world a safer place, will be strengthened once more.

The Americans John and I have met in the course of this campaign all want America to provide hopeful leadership again. They want America to return to its moral bearings. It is not a moralistic America they seek, but a moral nation that understands and willingly shoulders its obligations; a moral nation that rejects thoughtless and greedy choices in favor of thoughtful and generous actions; a moral nation that leads through the power of its ideas and the power of its example. We can and we should join together to make the most of this great gift we have been given, this gift of freedom, this gift of America.

In his first inaugural, speaking to a nation on the eve of war, Abraham Lincoln said, "We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth- stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Today, the better angels of our nature are just waiting to be summoned. We only require a leader who is willing to call on them, a leader willing to draw again on the mystic chords of our national memory and remind us of all that we, as a people, everyday leaders, can do; of all that we as a nation stand for and of all the immense possibility that still lies ahead.

I think I've found just the guy. I'm married to him.

John Kerry will give us back our faith in America. He will restore our faith in ourselves and in the sense of limitless opportunity that has always been America's gift to the world.

Together we will lift everyone up. We have to. It's possible. And you know what? It's the American thing to do. Goodnight and God bless.

I was very impressed. Very, very impressed.
I think that speech reveals that she knows what she is talking about, in any language.
I don't think Americans like to see a potential First Lady picked at by partisans. I bet most people won't be holding their breath for an apology, and I doubt the guy deserves one.

I haven't really paid much attention to Teresa up to this point, but I saw the second half of her speech last night, and I was blown away. Really. I was extremely impressed. She is definitely a woman of substance. I'm sure that Repugs will have all kinds of problems with her (and I'm just waiting for someone to bring up the fact that she's not native to this country--OMG! Maybe she's a spy! :rolleyes: ). But I think she's great. A real original. :clap:

Woman of substance???? :?: :?:

Not the way I heard it.

The first part was excruciatingly boring...until she reverted to the same old worn-out, liberal talking points that the left has been peddling for months. But then she started talking about what her husband believes, and she said this:

"He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil... " Ah yes...the old blood-for-oil charge. Don't liberals ever learn? Let's count the ways to shoot this one down. If the United States were fighting the war in Iraq over oil, then why didn't we just take the oil? Why is the oil still there? Wouldn't it have been much easier to simply invade Iraq, seize the oil fields, and then just let the rest of the country go to hell in a hand basket? We didn't.... because the war in Iraq wasn't about oil, and that's not what American troops were sent there for. I keep reading she is a smart woman .. perhaps so. She's certainly smart enough to use the language of the left .. the language of irrationality.

It's particularly galling when liberals talk about our dependence on foreign oil when they won't lift a finger to correct the situation. The environmentalists throw a snit fit whenever we try to drill for our own oil, try and build a refinery or try to do any oil exploration. Oh yeah...we're all supposed to conserve...but something tells me Kerry won't be turning in his private jet anytime soon. She also mentioned the government creating more jobs (which is not a function of government) and she brought up health care.

Real woman of substance... :dripple:

We simply do not have the oil reserves in this country (including Alaska) to become independent of the Middle East. No amount of drilling or exploration will create oil fields where they don't exist. My understanding is that the oil in Alaska would supply something like 1-2% of our total oil needs in the U.S. Is it worth it destroy that wild region for that? The oil wells pump continuously in the southwest, and still we are unable to keep up with our needs. The search for off-shore sources continues, however. The United States has an abundance of natural resources. Unfortunately, enough oil fields to fuel our power-hungry society isn't one of them.

And you damn well better believe our foreign polices (and wars) are connected to oil. Not in a direct sense, but we'd be up a tree if our oil supplies were cut off, and everything we do in the Middle East is tied, directly or indirectly, to that fact.

Who are you? Ann Coulter? You keep peppering your posts with the word, liberal like it is a bad thing.

One thing you are correct on. Everyone no matter what party needs to do more in finding ways to conserve energy and in finding alternatives though I do not think we need to rape the ANWR for the oil that is there so we can run our cars for a few extra months.

Ok, please take this in slowly. Here is the definition of liberal:

Liberal: a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

Wow, bad isn't it.