THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MAN
(I can just here Fred saying to himself "Man, I'm proud of this woman")
FRED VETS, SIGN UP TODAY AT:
Posted on 10/07/2007 10:54:15 PM PDT by jellybean
Jeri Thompson: The woman behind the man
Naperville-raised Jeri Thompson is GOP hopeful's biggest cheerleaderRecent months have seen Jeri Thompson painted a variety of ways in the press, from doting mom to trophy wife. She says she knew that would happen, but because she has granted few interviews, it can be hard to tell who she really is.
The Sun had an exclusive opportunity to get to know the 41-year-old Naperville native a little better one afternoon last week. She sat down to talk before attending a major Chicago fundraiser for her husband, Fred Thompson, 65. The recently declared presidential candidate is giving frontrunner Rudy Giuliani some tough competition to lead the Republican ticket next fall.
When she was known as Jeri Kehn, the candidate's wife lived in one of Naperville's downtown neighborhoods, off Mill Street, with her mom and stepdad, Vicki and Ron Keller. She made her way through District 203, attending Naper School, then Washington Junior High and Naperville North High School, graduating in 1984.
She studied English at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and after graduating, worked as a media consultant and Republican political strategist in Washington, D.C. She met her husband in the supermarket in July 1996, after their paths crossed in the checkout line.
The Thompsons were married in July 2002 at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville, a few months before Fred stepped down after two terms in the U.S. Senate and launched his tenure portraying District Attorney Arthur Branch on the television crime drama "Law and Order."
The couple live near Washington in McLean, Va., with their two children: Hayden, who just turned 4, and Sammy, who's not yet 1.
Where did you hang out when you were a teenager?
Well, I was pretty involved in school. I was a Starlette. 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. We had football and basketball. We performed at almost every game. I loved movies, and Ogden 6 (Theatres) used to be there. But I remember lots of intense times with those girls, more than anything.
And from your earlier years?
I was in Girl Scouts and Brownies and church. My mom still is the organist, and we did a whole lot of music programs there. Though I cannot sing a note, I was in cherub (choir) and all the way up.
When I grew up, kids didn't have computers. We had a park across the street, so playing out there was just a normal thing that kids just don't seem to do now. I find it very odd to get in the car to drive my child to a play date. There wasn't the concept of a play date when I grew up. I do really feel a disconnect on that sort of thing.
I really don't remember anything that structured - except for the Brownies and Girl Scouts. And the park district. My mom was a huge park district fan, so we did those sorts of activities ...
I went to Naper School, and I still love to go back there. In fact, when Fred and I got married, we took him on a tour, and we went to Naper School. I remember Mayor Pradel when he was the beat cop, when he was Officer Friendly at the school.
(I have) a lot of knowledge about Naperville - and in here (hands over her heart), too. I remember we walked to school - remember that, when kids walked to school? I remember Oswald's Drug Store. When I go downtown now, I really have to look around. It really does look different.
How often to you get back to town?
Now that we have kids, we're pretty good about it. We switch back and forth on the holidays.
Do you feel more like a Southerner or a Midwesterner these days?
A Midwesterner, no doubt about it. But Midwesterners and Southerners have a lot in common, and once you travel to other parts of the country, you can definitely see regional flavors and flair for different things in different ways. But you can always tell a Midwesterner. There's something that's there - a lack of pretense that I think some other folks find either alarming or refreshing, I'm not quite sure which.
It's safe to say your daily routine isn't what it was a couple of months ago. How are you balancing home life and being mommy to small children with the intensity of presidential campaigning?
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. I still try to get the e-mails done, either late at night or early in the morning. Often times Sammy's on my lap and there's still syrup on the table at 11:30 and I look up and where's the morning gone? It amazingly is not that different. There's more to do, I feel more guilty at the end of the day that I didn't do all the things I was supposed to do. It's not that different. It's just more.
From what I've read, it's not unusual for you and Sammy to be up at 3 in the morning. Are you able to make good use of that wakeful time?
He has seven teeth now. If we can be proud that he has the seven teeth, then I can be OK that I have four more circles under my eyes than I used to ... It's Sammy and Mommy time, which is nice, because Hayden, at 4, is not all that thrilled. Surprisingly, we didn't have that problem at the beginning, when we first had Sammy. We had a lot of female friends who helped me and brought her gifts and gave a lot of good advice. Now I'm finding the minute she feels a close moment, she will jump right to me. So 3 o'clock's OK. But he's getting better. The bigger that he is, there's more of a schedule, and that helps, with either one of them.
OK, back to the campaign trail. What do you find most admirable about your husband when you look at him as a prospective leader of the free world?
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 is the one who most people that I know, who know him, they would choose him. 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.
I can honestly say that every day I'm with him, I learn something about him that I didn't know before. Now, it's only been five years. People who've been married 30 might laugh at me and say, "Haha, you're newlyweds." He has an amazing strength, and it's not something that he wears on his sleeve. It's not a bravado, that he feels he needs to say, "I'm the most passionate" - whatever it is that people in Washington think you're supposed to be. He doesn't feel like you have to do that. He is his own man, and it's a beautiful thing to be around, in a town where sometimes that's hard to find.
In your interview last month with the Tennessean, you mentioned your mom and grandmother being hurt by some of the ugly aspects of political life. Was that a reference to the negative press?
Oh sure, yeah ... I think you do get a little bit used to it, because you understand if folks think that you're a threat - either they're running, or if you're changing a system that they're not comfortable with you changing the rules with - they're going to go after whatever they think might hurt him. We knew going in that they were going to do whatever they could to throw the kitchen sink at him, to try to get him off his game. It just strengthens your resolve for what's really important. I've said before that I have a very strong and firm belief that there's a whole lot of things we're not talking about in this country that we ought to. I've got a lot of friends that have sons and daughters in Iraq - second, third, fourth trips, some of them - and that's what's important. That's what we should be talking about. This stuff ... (Fred) used to say the flies get bigger in the summer, and I think that sums it up.
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 rhetorically whether 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?
I think conservative voters will vote for the conservative candidate, which he is.
What I'm hearing you say is you'd rather people talk about things that are more important than a trophy wife.
Well, it's a rhetorical question, so I'll answer rhetorically. And in light of that, I have spent quite a few years on very conservative issues. I worked with the Republican National Committee, I worked for Sen. (Connie) Mack in Florida, in a communications capacity. I really believe in the things that Fred stands for. I believe in America. I believe in smaller government. I believe in less taxes. If that's not what people want to hear from Fred, they probably won't want to hear it from me, either.
Your professional background, as you just mentioned, enables you to bring some valuable expertise to the campaign. Depending on what one reads, your role so far has been everything from silently supportive spouse to manipulative mastermind. What's the truth?
I think the story would be if I was not supportive of my husband. This is a man who was, at the time we started thinking about this, filling in for one of Chicago's institutions, an icon, Paul Harvey. He was in New York a day and a half, at least, a week shooting "Law and Order." And he was writing commentary every day. To not ask your wife - who has some sense of something about who he is and what he is saying, to help him transition - the story would be why isn't she helping, not what is she doing to hurt him? The strength and energy that any spouse brings to the relationship I think is a healthy and a positive thing. I think most marriages ask for that sort of thing. It is really amazing to me that this is something that people think is bad.
As you know, for several months now the polls have shown only Giuliani running ahead of Fred, and current Rasmussen numbers have Fred in front. Now there are indications that the religious conservative arm of the party will be launching a pretty concerted effort to prevent a Giuliani nomination, in large part based on his liberal stance on social issues, including abortion. Given that a highly controversial Planned Parenthood clinic just opened this week very close to Naperville, what is your position on that issue?
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 in his voting on that issue, he's very clear where he stands, and I am 100 percent in agreement with him.
Have you given a whole lot of thought at this point to what it would be like to be first lady?
I have not. I almost feel it's slightly presumptuous. In a strange sort of way, I think there's a point where you look at it, and I haven't gotten there. I am lucky to get those kids (packed) with 22 outfits for spending six days on the road. It's a little daunting, and I haven't gotten that far - except I know I would never let go of the things that always mattered to me, that brought me to Washington in the first place, and that is those first principles that Fred talks about so readily. And also I think there are some things that the press needs to do a little bit better, like (covering) the treatment of women in Iran, things like that. We're very concerned about what certain women wear and how their hair looks and whether something's appropriate on the Senate floor, and I think that's hogwash. There's a whole lot of things that really matter, and shouldn't we be spending our time doing something else? And if the president and first lady cannot be the ones to guide to conversation somewhere better, then who?
The presidential primary will take place in Illinois on Feb. 5, 2008.
Jeri is amazing.
Sammy is on her lap at 11:30 AM AND “Being raised by strangers in daycare.”
What a feat. :)
LOL!
When Jeri is challenged by political and issue oriented interviewers, she will answer with her well thought out conservative positions including women's issues from a responsible perspective.
The result will be a gain in respect for her AND Fred. Wise voters will see it as maturity on her part, to discern the worth of conservative values at a relatively young age.
That she's not rehearsed the answers, but concluded them from reflection will be clear, and traditional America will love her for it.
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MAN
(I can just here Fred saying to himself "Man, I'm proud of this woman")
FRED VETS, SIGN UP TODAY AT:
The top 10 reasons why Fred Thompson should be the Republican nominee:
10. Because a review of Fred Dalton Thompson’s voting record shows that he consistently voted for gun owners (the NRA called him a “staunch supporter of the Second Amendment”), against abortion, for business, against higher taxes, for a balanced budget, for a strong defense, for ANWR drilling, for capping foreign aid, for free trade, for private property rights, for personal retirement accounts, for the Iraq War Resolution and for welfare reform.
9. Because, among his interest group ratings, Sen. Thompson earned a perfect zero from National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action, a perfect 100% from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, only 11% from the ACLU, 85% from the American Conservative Union, 86% from the Center for Security Policy, a perfect zero from the American Federation of Teachers, 6% from the National Education Association, 90% from the League of Private Property Voters, 97% from the National Tax Limitation committee, 88% from the National Taxpayers Union and a perfect zero from the liberal ADA. In a 1995 analysis, Project Vote Smart listed Thompson as having supported Contract With America items 100% of the time. The Club for Growth has just released a a report in which Club President Pat Toomey concludes, “Fred Thompson’s eight-year record is generally pro-growth with an excellent record on entitlement reform and school choice and a very good record on taxes, regulation, and trade. His belief in a limited federal government is demonstrated by his numerous votes against government intrusion in the private sector and increased federal spending. His fondness for Tennessee pork aside, Thompson consistently voted against increased spending and new government projects, at times, one of only a handful of senators to do so.”
8. Because under his Chairmanship, Sen. Thompson’s Governmental Affairs Committee actively pursued an agenda aimed at producing a smaller, more efficient, and more accountable government. Of his efforts, the Kingsport Times-News wrote, “Sen. Thompson is to be applauded for keeping a watchful eye over Washington fiscal matters. There should be more like him.” Chairman Thompson held hearings on improving the federal regulatory process; reforming the IRS; exploring ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; and a number of national security issues, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies. Thompson also investigated and successfully enacted solutions to information management problems such as government computer security.
7. Because as a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, Thompson focused on reducing taxes, reforming the tax code to make it simpler and fairer, and restoring the Social Security and Medicare programs to long-term solvency. He advocated a balanced approach to trade and national security and pushed for an export control policy that protects our country’s national security without unnecessarily burdening American industry with bureaucratic red tape. He also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by China and other countries and to strengthen the United States’ response to such activities.
6. Because when Thompson makes the rare mistake, he admits it and learns from it. Though he’s rightly still not comfortable with the idea of people giving large sums of money to legislators and then coming before their committees to ask for the government’s favor, FDT has owned up to the fact that that McCain Feingold was a poor attempt to solve the problem of influence peddling and just plain old bribery. He’s learned that full disclosure might just be the best way to deal with the probelm. Fred has also admitted that his vote for the immigration reform measure which President Reagan signed in 1986 created an additional 12 to 20 million illegals. He’s learned from that and has grown much tougher on the issue, advocating the securing of our borders before anything else is done and the deportation of illegals when they are captured.
5. Because Fred Thompson has been committed to federalist principles his entire political career and has brought federalism to the forefront of the current political dialogue. He has also been a voice in the wilderness speaking out about the coming entitlement and national debt crisis, calling for a frank discussion of how we must deal with it. Thompson stands apart from the other major Republican presidential candidates who have been for the most part silent on these issues.
4. Because Sen. Thompson has the admiration and respect of his former colleagues on the hill. As president, he would have the best chance of all the candidates to get the congressional cooperation required to advance his agenda. FDT has demonstrated this kind of leadership with his very successful shepherding of John Roberts through the political minefield that is the U.S. Senate.
3. Because he scares the devil out of leftists. Even the liberal Washington Monthly in a 1999 hit piece had to begrudgingly admit that as a Senator, Thompson worked hard to keep his campaign promises. Democratic strategist Bob Beckel revealed, in a discussion on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes program, that Fred Thompson for president would be their “worst nightmare” because of his communications skills and ability to appeal to swing voters. Many backers of Fred’s GOP opponents attack him even more viciously than the Democrats do because he poses a major threat to their candidates now that he’s in the race.
2. Because he doesn’t scare independents and Reagan Democrats. Like Reagan, Thompson is that rare sort of conservative who can sell conservative ideas to moderates and independents. And again like Reagan, he may be the only potential candidate who can unite the factions of the Republican Party right now. No, Fred isn’t Ronald Reagan, and he’s the first one to say it. But he is one of Reagan’s smartest students and most consistent disciples who has the same kind of media-savvy and commanding presence. Also like Reagan, Fred Thompson is much more than “just an actor.”
1. Because he will beat Hillary Clinton like a rented mule.
I seem to remember a presidential wife by the name of Jackie Kennedy who drew a lot of press.
Not saying that Fred is not a Christian because, I am a Baptist that believes, once saved, always saved, but a committed Church of Christ would be in church every Sunday to take communion. They believe that a person can lose their salvation.
And the thought of Bill Clinton as "First Lady" is scary.
Ah well, John Edwards isn't half the man Hillary is either.
Her.......
Or her......
~ awesome post BUMP! ~
She does seem very natural and inspired. Her confidence and poise are contagious.
Thompson’s United Church of Christ supports gay marriage:
The college Reagan went to in Eureka, Illinois was a conservative Disciples church school.
Please stop whatever witch hunt you’re on. The article does not say he attends the United Church of Christ. It says he and Jeri were married in the United church of Christ in Naperville. Perhaps that was the only church available for the date they wanted...I don’t know! Do you??
I know something about the Church of Christ. Fred was not a member of the liberal church. I’ve read about the church in Lawrenceburg where he was a member. His momma is a member of a noninstitutional [conservative] church in Brentwood. There is no way that the church in Lawrenceburg where he grew up was anything but conservative. No instrumental music in worship, no dancing, among other things.
I suspect that may be part of the reason he doesn’t attend regularly in McLean. Another freeper says Fred does attend there in McLean. Where he lives in Virginia might have very different beliefs than the churches in Tennessee where he worships, possibly more liberal. I read in an early article last spring that Fred and Sarah raised their three children in the church of Christ, but a recent article had Sarah being from a Methodist background. His oldest son Tony now goes to a Methodist church.
Sarah gave an interview to a newspaper and talked about Fred’s parents and their beliefs and they were definitely conservative.
He may have been married there but he was never a member there. It isn’t the same as the church where he grew up or the church where his mother attends and he attends with her.
I’m sure that the United Church of Christ probably does support gay marriage. That is why the church of Christ has had splits. The conservatives and Disciples of Christ split around the time of the Civil War.
You’re on the wrong path with this and you’re wrong about Fred being a part of that.
Plus one more point. The church that Fred grew up in and where his mother goes do not have a Synod or headquarters or any central organization. Each congregation is autonomous and governs its own affairs. Part of the reason for the split back in the day.
Thanks lilly. This is how rumors get started and spread all across the internet. That’s how the rumors of Fred announcing on July 4th got started and are now considered fact. It’s better to nip this in the bud rather than trying to correct the record later.
hey...it was late and I was going on memory
but you’re right although it was more a love affair than any care about her political views
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.