Monday, Jul 7, 2008
Why is it so difficult for the media to accept a strong, smart and opinionated prospective first lady?
Jul 22, 2004 | Teresa Heinz Kerry is a breath of fresh air, so why are the media choking on it?
Almost every story about her these days includes at least one snarky remark -- usually attacking her for her refusal to endlessly regurgitate the same preapproved talking points.
According to the chattering class, Heinz Kerry is -- and I quote -- "too outspoken," "too opinionated," "slightly zany," "eccentric and unpredictable," "the queen of direct" and -- cover your ears, kids -- "says what she thinks, when she thinks it."
In other words, she's an unconventional straight shooter. The horror!
(Reporters also seem to have a big problem with her hair, which has variously been described as "unkempt," "unruly," "humidity-frizzed," "voluminous" and "expensively colored a rich auburn" -- but that's follicle fodder for another column.)
Even Maureen Dowd, no slouch herself in the independent-thinking department, felt compelled to write not one but two columns in the course of 10 days slamming Teresa for, among other things, being "flaky."
You gotta love this about our media mavens: They are constantly bemoaning the lack of forthrightness in our public figures -- the vast majority of whom wouldn't know a straight answer if it bit them in the butt. But when the pundits are finally presented with someone who doesn't (pardon the expression) beat around the bush, they start sharpening the long knives.
They're like a bunch of little kids who have gotten so used to being fed nothing but vanilla ice cream for dessert that a serving of rocky road with sprinkles on top leaves them sputtering and crying, "Yuck!"
Most of the American public, on the other hand, possesses a far more developed and discerning palate -- and can appreciate more complex and piquant flavors.
And when it comes to spicing up the political dessert tray, Teresa Heinz Kerry is one of the most flavorful and compelling public figures to hit the national stage in decades.
When I first met her in Washington in 1980, she was a popular Republican wife, with views similar to the ones she holds today. Now she's a Democratic wife; a philanthropist who oversees a foundation that gives tens of millions to causes like the environment, healthcare and early education; a loving mother, grandmother and stepmother. She grew up in Mozambique, went to college in South Africa, where she marched against apartheid, is fluent in five languages, and learned so much about medicine from her oncologist father that friends and family have nicknamed her "Dr. T."
And unlike most politicians, she has a natural gift for intimacy and interacts with campaign crowds of 5,000 as if she were sitting around chatting with a small group of friends.
Yes, she is indeed unabashedly open with her opinions on everything from the war in Iraq ("I would never have gone to war this way") to George Bush ("fazed by complexity") to Botox treatments (she's had them).
But isn't that what we claim to want from those in public life? Or are we comfortable with authenticity only when it's a contrivance manufactured to appear authentic?
"I am the product of living in dictatorships," Teresa has said. "It makes you cherish the ability to be yourself, to have feelings, and to speak them when asked. People say I'm blunt. I say, 'No, just honest.'"
It's this honesty that has led the media to brand her with the scarlet O for offbeat -- a caricature given national credence by a Newsweek cover that trumpeted: "Is John Kerry's Heiress Wife a Loose Cannon or Crazy Like a Fox?"
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