Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), was in the spotlight at the party's convention after again revealing her outspoken nature(AFP/Getty Images/File)
Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), was in the spotlight at the party's convention after again revealing her outspoken nature(AFP/Getty Images/File)
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Journalists began sizing up Heinz when Kerry was still just "considering" a presidential run. In June 2002, the Washington Post's Mark Leibovich interviewed Heinz and Kerry and delivered a dishy take on their relationship, insinuating that Heinz was still very much in love with her first husband and prone to walking all over the second. Leibovich noted that Heinz still referred to John Heinz as "my husband" and that his photo hung alongside Kerry's in the hall. |
| In conversation with Kerry, though, Heinz "snaps," "raises her voice," works up "a full head of rage," and "mimics Kerry having a Vietnam nightmare," just moments after he denies having any. In response, Kerry "fidgets," "exhales a long, loud sigh," and "tries to play down his wife's agitation." When he suggests that she make peace with Santorum, she refuses: "I don't have to be that politic." At the end of the article, anonymous Kerry staffers wonders how to "handle Teresa" and sum up the dilemma: Her bluntness could become a problem. | |
| Julia Turner is a Slate assistant editor. You can e-mail her at explainer@slate.com. Illustration by Charlie Powell. |
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