Posted on 10/07/2007 5:29:47 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Recent months have seen Jeri Thompson painted a variety of ways in the press, from doting mom to trophy wife.
The wife of GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson says she knew that would happen, but because she has given few interviews, it can be hard to tell who she really is.
The Naperville Sun had an opportunity to get to know the 41-year-old Naperville native. She sat down for an interview before attending a major Chicago fund-raiser.
The former Jeri Kehn lived in one of Naperville's downtown neighborhoods with her mom and stepdad, Vicki and Ron Keller.
She graduated from Naperville North High School in 1984.
She studied English at DePauw University in Indiana, then worked as a media consultant and Republican strategist in Washington. She met her husband in a supermarket checkout line in 1996.
They were married in July 2002 at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville, a few months before Fred Thompson stepped down from the Senate and began portraying District Attorney Arthur Branch on the TV drama "Law & Order."
The couple live near Washington in McLean, Va., with their children, Hayden, 4, and Sammy, who's not yet 1.
Q. Where did you hang out when you were a teen?
A. Well, I was pretty involved in school. I was a Starlette [dance team member]. That's probably not a cool thing to say now. Who knows what's cool, then and now? I don't really know. But I was a Starlette, and that was every day after school, so there really wasn't any hanging out. My parents were pretty strict ... about going out and stuff. But games were Friday nights.
Q. How often do you get back to town?
A. Now that we have kids, we're pretty good about it. We switch back and forth on the holidays.
Q. How are you balancing home life and being mom to small children with the intensity of campaigning?
A. It's shockingly not unlike normal life with small kids. I still wake up in the morning, and hope to get dressed and showered before I get the kids to school. Sometimes that doesn't always happen.
Q. What do you find most admirable about your husband when you look at him as a prospective leader of the free world?
A. That's actually very easy to answer: his integrity. He is someone who you want to be in the ditch with, who you would want in your foxhole. ... He's the one who makes you feel comfortable. He's had ex-girlfriends say, "I would feel better knowing Fred Thompson was president." That is a pretty amazing thing, to have so many people who have known him throughout his life feel the same.
Q. Back in July, the New York Times noted that "trophy wife" isn't really a slur, since it describes someone who made a name for herself before she was given that label. But the same piece asked if traditionally conservative voters are likely to embrace a 60-something candidate with a pretty wife 24 years his junior. What are your thoughts about all the attention that's being given to that?
A. I think conservative voters will vote for the conservative candidate, which he is.
Q. There are indications that the religious conservative arm of the party will be launching an effort to prevent a Rudy Giuliani nomination, in large part based on his liberal stance on social issues, including abortion. What is your position on that issue?
A. There is another quote that you might have heard about me, and that is that there is no space between Fred and me on policy issues. I think that's probably one of the reasons that we get along so well, and probably some of the reason that people are uncomfortable. Fred is 100 percent [anti-abortion] in his voting on that issue, he's very clear where he stands, and I am 100 percent in agreement with him.
WOW!! Fred Thompson is your grandfather? Tell us more...
I guess Sunday morning is koffee klatsch time for the Chatty Kathys to weigh in with cogent observations and enlightening observations about a possibly-future First Lady.
Leni
The former Jeri Kehn lived in one of Naperville's downtown neighborhoods with her mom and stepdad, Vicki and Ron Keller.
WT___?
I know Naperville (we've lived 'next door' since 1975 - almost spitting distance) and I know it's 'Downtown'. Our Doctor is in Naperville. Our Pharmacist is in Naperville. My wife worked in Naperville. We had friends who LIVED in Naperville.
But I didn't know it had Downtown 'Neighborhoods' (plural). And have never ever heard of any such thing. Me thinks someone is on crack - and it ain't me. /s
And if this phrasing is used to disguise their house's area, it's a rotten job. It's pretty simple to locate Naperville North's School boundary and go from there.
My below average income cousin and her Husband had their 4 yr old in pre school and their 1 yr old in a 'Mom's Day Out' program a few hrs/days a week. Would you consider them trophy children as well?
I’m pretty sure that people in the Thompson’s position have a “nanny” that cares for the children when needed during the Thompson’s busy schedule. It’s great to take the kids with you sometimes - but not practical & not great for the kids to do it always - and there are times when Mrs. Thompson attends events on her own.
My thought on this is that maybe she tells the kids they are going to “school” when they are under the care of someone else. Little kids would think this would be fun & maybe that’s what Jeri meant by “school”.
This brings me to another point. The time is coming very quickly when we are going to have to start uniting behind a candidate or we will not be able to defeat Hillary. As I said in another thread - the media is determined that our candidate will be Rudy Guiliani. If we, as conservatives, don’t want that to happen - we’re going to have to not waste a vote in the primary on a second tier candidate. I love Duncan Hunter, but I’m afraid if I vote for him in the primary - that will, in the end - enable Rudy to be our frontrunner & our eventual nominee. This is the worst thing that can happen to us. Nitpicking on Thompson or Romney only helps Rudy.
Please see this thread for an excellent commentary on the subject:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/1907624/posts
Jeri said she has a trophy husband. So there are trophys all around the place.
While post #22 counts them.
Take heart, minutiae gal. There are other threads on FR, some quite ponderous and of great moment. Shame on whomever forced you to read this one!
Methinks you're the one on crack. I know Naperville very well, also....our family owns a well-known business on Chicago Ave. The many stately old houses, modern apartnments and homes surrounding the downtown area are very definitely "downtown neighborhoods".
WEBSTER'S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY: "Neighborhood, the state or quality of being neighbors, the people living near one another, near/close to a place, nearby, adjacent; close together."
And why would anyone (are you referring to Jeri?) want to "disguise" their neighborhood? Naperville is one of the most attractive and fast-growing, solid Republican cities in Illinois. The downtown is noted for its famous River Walk, restaurants and shops.
The incredible and worthless nits being picked on this thread are making me break out in hives. Mrs. Thompson seems to get under some people's skins for nothing at all even though they just met her on TV (where she did damn well).
Leni
Bad, bad boyfriend, BobS!
I noticed that also. I think her comment was a generic statement indicating that her mornings are similar to the mornings of most mothers, not specifically related to her exact routine.
What is the deal with everybody who apparently scoured all her remarks and seized upon the one (and only) thing they could find to criticize?
Some threads are interesting and edifying......some contain some really silly stuff.
As on any thread, one takes the bitter with the better. However some comments are so limp, so dopey or so wildly incorrect, it's fun to respond. Life shouldn't be so serious and nit-pickey ALL the time.
Leni
And many quite ponderous and of little moment.
Trophy kids, my eye. Hayden is going all over the place campaigning with her parents and we have seen several articles which state that Jeri is doing all childcare while campaigning. I can't believe some of you are attacking her for calling "pre-school" "school". Many people do that.
Me thinks you are looking for something to raise doubts about.
Every heard of nursey school? What boonies do you live in?
Well, character counts with me, and it does matter how a candidate raises his children. If in their mature years, well-off as they are, they are sending an infant to school, I’d like to hear why. Could be a good reason, could be a typo, but irrelevant it isn’t. Not to me!
Hopefully this morning they are getting the kids to church too, which is where I’m off to.
How many times do we see articles written about victims of crimes, or even perpetrators of crimes where people ignore the entire story only to point out the marital status (or lack of) of the parents.
That does not make it right, but for many people here family values, and the way you raise your children is the foremost thought in their minds. I personally don't care about the Thompson family dynamics, but I do hate 4 year old kindergarten, and if it can be helped (which it obviously can be in the case of the Thompsons) I believe that children are in the best care when they are in the care of their parents, and not sent off to "school" at ages 10 months, and 4 years old.
Every criticism of Fred does not necessarily need to be a capital case here on Free Republic.
Okay folks - Rush said soldiers? Taken out of context. Stop it! Much more important things to concern yourself about then whether the four-year-old goes to school or pre-school!
Perhaps this will dispel your hesitation...
Funny though occurred to me the last few days as I was reading some articles and viewing some videotapes of Jerri.
I would just love to see her in a series of debates between Jerri and Hillary (sorry, BJ doesn’t yet qualify as highly as a wife does in my book) and all the Democratic candidates’ wives.
Wouldn’t that be a hoot!
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