www.suntimes.com
Posted on 02/13/2004 2:52:05 AM PST by ambrose
February 13, 2004
BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Here we go again.
It's called the sex thing.
Dem presidential contender John Kerry's campaign may have been hit broadside. Please, pardon the pun.
It's no secret Kerry dated alotta women after his divorce from first wife Julia Thorne in 1988 and before he married Teresa Heinz in 1995.
But the first salvo in an alleged sexual drama came via Internet columnist Matt Drudge, author of the "Drudge Report," (which broke the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky mess) who claimed Thursday a Kerry scandal may be erupting. It allegedly involves Kerry's marital infidelity with a woman who once worked for the Associated Press -- and has reportedly fled the country at the prodding of Kerry.
True? Well, Sneed is told the real reason former Dem presidential nominee Al Gore did NOT select Kerry as his veepmate was because of allegations of women problems, or marital infidelity involving Kerry's marriage to Heinz, heiress to the Heinz Ketchup fortune, whom he met in 1990.
A top source tells Sneed Gore was talking about Kerry's sexual baggage "with a young woman" as recently as late last week!
"Kerry was the favorite to be Gore's veep, but they worried a female problem could erupt, so U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was selected instead," said the source.
"In addition to Gore backing Howard Dean for president, because he wanted access to the cadre of Dean youth called the "Deanie babies" when he runs for president again and goes up against Hillary Clinton, Gore chose Dean because he feared the Kerry female mess would rear its ugly head," the source added.
Introduced to Kerry by her late husband, Pennsylvania Republican Sen. John Heinz -- who was killed in a plane crash in 1991 -- Teresa Heinz married Kerry after he signed a pre-nup. (Heinz owns five homes in the United States.)
The big question: Did Dean opt not to pull out of the race after the Wisconsin primary because he was waiting for the Kerry scandal to erupt?
And didn't Kerry linger longer at P.J. Clarke's pub than he should have while chatting it up with a member of the opposite sex during a visit to Chicago a few years back?
By the way, Thorne, Kerry's ex-wife, who has since married an architect, has written a book about depression called: You Are Not Alone.
Stay tuned.
Hmmmm . . .
Talk about a no-luck politician.
************ the former 21st Ward alderman who went to prison as a result of the Silver Shovel Operation scandal, doesn't seem to have a silver lining in his political comeback.
*To wit: Last year, Evans was knocked off the ballot in a bid to reclaim his aldermanic seat because he was still under court supervision from his prison sentence -- thereby making him ineligible to run.
*Last bit: On Thursday, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners struck down Evans' candidacy for 21st Ward Democratic committeeman because his nominating petition didn't have enough valid signatures!
Maybe Evans should buy a truck?
A Crowe call . . .
Get a load of this one. The Aussie press claims "Dumb and Dumber" director Peter Farrelly is making a film about "The Three Stooges" and hopes to get actor Russell Crowe to play "Moe." Now there's a thought.
The bee buzz . . .
Now comes word actor Richard Gere, who tapped his way into our hearts in the film "Chicago," is taking up the violin in preparation for his role in the flick "Bee Season." Ah, to bee or not to bee.
Sneedlings . . .
Today's birthdays: George Segal, 70; Kim Novak, 71; Peter Tork, 62; Stockard Channing, 60; Jerry Springer, 60; Peter Gabriel, 54, and Mena Suvari, 25. Saturday's birthdays: Hugh Downs, 83; Rick O'Dell, priceless; Florence Henderson, 70; Meg Tilly, 44, and WMAQ-Channel 5's Natalie Martinez, ageless.
Michael Sneed is seen at 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays on WMAQ-Channel 5.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © The Sun-Times Company
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
"He BETRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYED US!!"
Monday, May 12, 2003 11:58 a.m. EDT John Kerry's Newt Gingrich Problem? After Newt Gingrich hit the national spotlight in 1994 by becoming the first Republican speaker of the House in 40 years, he was skewered by reports that he had served his first wife divorce papers as she lay in a hospital bed battling cancer. But the press has been far kinder to Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry, who, according to published accounts going back more than a decade, began extricating himself from his first marriage to Philadelphia heiress Julia Thorne at the same time she was battling a case of depression so debilitating that it drove her to the brink of suicide. In an attempt to explain why he decided not to let his wife's precarious mental state derail his 1982 bid to become Michael Dukakis' lieutenant governor, Kerry told the New Yorker magazine last December, "When I get focused and set out to do something, I'm pretty good at staying focused." "You don't want to let yourself down, you know what I'm saying?" added the ambitious Democrat without a hint of irony. Thorne, whose family is reportedly worth $300 million, married Kerry in 1970. According the New Yorker's Joe Klein, the couple's friends said Julia was not a typical political wife. "There were times at dinner parties when John would be very pompous, unable to control his impulse to make a speech," one acquaintance told the writer. "It was all slightly laughable, and Julia was one of those who laughed. She'd say things like, 'What the f--k did you just say?'" Kerry's career focus was so intense that Thorne apparently felt she was an impediment to her husband's ambitions. In her 1994 book about that period in her life, titled "You Are Not Alone," she wrote: "I could no longer pretend I was of use to my husband or my children. ... I knew that, once I was gone, my family and friends would be relieved of the burden of my incompetency." By Thorne's own account, she began to contemplate suicide a full two years before Kerry ratcheted up his 1982 campaign. Reviewing her book shortly after it was published, the Boston Globe reported: "One night in 1980, Julia Thorne put her children to bed and then sat on the edge of her own bed to contemplate suicide. She was exhausted - overwhelmed by despair, self-loathing and pain. She wanted to lie down. Curl up. Sleep forever." The Kerrys were separated in 1982 but didn't divorce until 1988. Press summaries of the New Yorker report focused on other details of Kerry's life story, such as his Vietnam heroism. Most omitted any mention of Kerry's first wife altogether, a fact that likely pleased the Massachusetts Democrat. "Kerry is understandably loath to talk about the details of the marriage," noted Klein. In response to the New Yorker report, Sen. Kerry wrote what was described as "an anguished letter" of protest to the magazine. Thorne's two daughters by Kerry also registered their displeasure. Their mother, who has since conquered her depression and is happily remarried and living in Montana, told the Globe, "I support John's [presidential] candidacy, and I believe in John's candidacy. I think he is an immensely talented statesman, and I am 100 percent behind him." But previous reports indicate that Thorne had problems with Kerry even after they split 21 years ago. During the period the Kerrys were separated, for instance, the senator apparently felt little constrained by his marital vows. Gossip columns at the time linked him to Morgan Fairchild, Cornelia Guest and even President Reagan's liberal daughter, Patti Davis. An upcoming Boston Globe expose will reportedly feature details of the Massachusetts Democrat's 1980s affair with a 25-year-old British reporter. According to a previous account offered by the paper, the fact that Kerry was still technically married till 1988 "reportedly came as a surprise to some of his frequent companions." Just weeks before his May 26, 1995, remarriage to Ketchup heiress Theresa Heinz, Thorne took Kerry to court in a bid for an increase in child support payments, arguing that "his income was up substantially," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Both Kerry and Thorne denied that the lawsuit had anything to do with Heinz or her fortune. But friction arose again two years later when Kerry, a Catholic, applied to the Washington, D.C., archdiocese to have his marriage to Thorne annulled, even though the couple had two grown daughters. Thorne "has written a letter of opposition to the archdiocese because she feels the process demeans their relationship and their children," reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1997. The paper blamed Kerry's new wife on the annulment bid. His office issued a terse statement: "Sen. Kerry very much understands Julia's feelings and appreciates her support. Sen. Kerry believes that this is a private family matter." The Washington Times noted in a Kerry profile several years ago that his critics consider him "a ruthless political opportunist." Given some of the more obscure details of Kerry's first marriage, that assessment may not be too far off the mark. http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2003/5/12/120519
This brings to mind Bill Clinton on Inauguration Day telling the American people that his was going to be the most ethical administration ever (or, something to that effect).
I guess it depends on what the definition of 'ethical' is.
Evidently to some 'ethical' means 'not letting a conservative win an election.'
Hmmmmm, a very interesting thought!
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