'Mrs.' opportunities in duel for first lady
NO ONE gets to cast a vote for first lady. But the women whose husbands are fighting over the White House are part of the battle, including the ever burgeoning battle over "values."
Why else would first lady Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry, participate in a cookie bakeoff for Family Circle magazine? Even in 2004, the women who would be first lady must demonstrate their commitment to family values by sharing a favorite recipe.
As Judith Steinberg Dean discovered during Democratic primary season, America's voters still want a wife at a candidate's side, not a physician at her patient's side. Elizabeth Edwards, a lawyer and wife of the Democratic vice presidential candidate, John Edwards, is already winning praise for her expertise in playing the only role that matters on the campaign trail: that of political wife.
A first lady is, first, a political helpmate. That theory brought red America to the heart of blue America last week in Massachusetts. "Welcome to Chelsea, Mrs. Bush," read a carwash sign en route to the George F. Kelly Elementary School, where Laura Bush participated in a phonics lesson that showcased a federally funded reading program for underachieving students in this low-income neighborhood.
The first lady's visit to humble Chelsea came a few days after the Democratic presidential nominee-to-be announced John Edwards as his running mate at Mrs. Kerry's sprawling Pennsylvania country estate. And everything about the Chelsea event managed to showcase the stark stylistic differences between the incumbent first lady and the wife of her husband's Democratic challenger: supportive first wife versus supportive first heiress, traditional versus unconventional, scripted versus candid, low-key versus loose cannon.
Mrs. Bush is pure discipline, from her perfectly coiffed hair and neat beige pantsuit to her crisp responses during a heavily scripted roundtable discussion with teachers, school administrators, and Governor Mitt Romney. She knows education lingo, enough to sum up the program being touted as "systemic and sequential." There is little doubt this former librarian could pronounce "nuclear" if called upon to do so. However, her major contribution at this event was ladylike nodding.
No press questions were allowed at any time. Before and after the panel discussion, Mrs. Bush interacted with elementary school students. However, only television cameras and a pool TV reporter were allowed to accompany her beyond the roundtable discussion. After her Chelsea morning, Mrs. Bush was driven to a $20,000-a-head GOP fund-raiser at the Four Seasons. No press, no problems.
The result: a highly controlled campaign event, telegraphing nice photographs of the first lady on John Kerry's home turf. One photo was published on the front page of The Boston Globe, right under a story headlined "Kerry camp on the defensive after celebrities bash Bush." That is rare serendipity for the Bush campaign in Kerry country.
Clearly, Teresa Heinz Kerry brings a different style to the campaign trail. Her candor and outspokenness appeal to some and turn off others. She is a non-traditional political wife who is quick to speak her mind on a range of issues, some more helpful to her husband's campaign than others.
Mrs. Kerry makes traditional campaign visits to Head Start programs but also opines about Iraq and describes herself as "sexy." Fortunately, she is no longer talking about Botox. Lately, the Republicans have been focusing attention on her wealth, estimated at $500 million to $1 billion, which she inherited from her late husband, Senator H. John Heinz III.
Mrs. Kerry showed candor and sensibility when she answered the critics by telling "60 Minutes" interviewer Lesley Stahl: "Those very same people never criticized my late husband for his money or his wealth -- in fact, they used it. His money was just dandy."
The GOP message on this score is somewhat confusing. Is it bad to be rich? Is inherited wealth un-American if you are a Democrat but not a Republican? Is it better to be a librarian who marries into a wealthy Republican family or a wealthy woman who marries a United States senator? And what does any of that have to do with who should be president of the United States?
Choosing between Laura Bush's oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies and Teresa Heinz Kerry's pumpkin spice makes as much sense -- maybe more.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
