Not Ready For Prime Time (cont.)

Now Matt Drudge trumpets Teresa wondering whether Laura Bush ever had a job. Here is the inflammatory quote from The Charming One's interview with USA Today:

Q: You'd be different from Laura Bush?

A: Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job — I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things. And I'm older, and my validation of what I do and what I believe and my experience is a little bit bigger — because I'm older, and I've had different experiences. And it's not a criticism of her. It's just, you know, what life is about.

She doesn't know. I thought it was common knowledge that Laura Bush was a librarian and school teacher, but I suppose there is nothing common about Teresa - after all, her validation and her experience are a bit bigger.

Suggestions for Dems:

- You might be underdogs in a referendum on Laura versus Teresa. It would be a GREAT idea to send her on a fact finding trip to Africa, or somewhere (anywhere!), just to get her out of sight. Failing that, try duct tape - just two weeks now!

- We understand the the NEA is totally in your pocket, but still, this is kind of disrespectful to teachers everywhere. Naturally, Teresa can never apologize [UPDATE: Except when she can, and quite graciously], especially to a Republican, but perhaps you could schedule a photo-op with her and some underemployed teachers. Maybe put them on her Gulfstream and fly them to her Idaho getaway for some fishing and hiking - this could broaden their life experiences, and help to validate them.

- Tall John was having a bit of success with his charm offensive towards women. Hard luck about this latest. But at least we see why, when Bob Schieffer asked about the strong women in his life, John preferred to talk about his mom.

- Nice try, Teresa, but Ms. Edwards comments about Ms. Cheney were even more offensive.

- Careful, Dems. This subtle scheme to promote class warfare and demonize the rich may backfire. Great bumper sticker though - No Tax Cuts For Queen Teresa.

Now, in a spirit of bipartisanship, some hints for Laura:

- Resist the overwhelming temptation to respond with "shove it"; a simple "many people underestimate the demands of being a school teacher" will be fine.

- Do keep it simple - rephrasing that last suggestion as "many billionaires are out of touch with the demands of being a school teacher" may be viewed as a bit harsh. "Billionaire heiresses" would be even more so.

And a final thought for the media - enough, already, with the "isn't Teresa a free spirit, so candid, so outspoken, such a breath of fresh air" spin. This comment was none of those things; rather, it was ignorant and condescending.

Now, if this was a true domestic and political partnership, someone, perhaps Tall John himself, would sit Ms. Heinz down and explain to her that it is past time for her to get her act together. And yes, even if it is only an act, she needs to pretend to be capable of conventional standards of civility.

There is not much evidence to date that anyone is able to rein her in, from which I infer this not a partnership at all. Rather, it is just what it looks like - Ms. Heinz is a billionaire heiress to whom no one, including her husband, says boo.

Make another joke about her money, John - maybe that can carry us for four years.

MORE: Yes, I'm peeved. Does it really show?

UPDATE: OK, nice apology, I could be wrong. (I'm not, but losing this evidence prompts me to switch over to a faith-based initiative).

UPDATE 2: As I was saying, nice apology, if you want to denigrate housewives and mothers. And how is it that I am coming so late to this angle myself? I have no idea. My first thought was that Teresa's comment was even stupider than Hillary's "stay home and bake cookies" debacle, and then I brain-locked on the NEA. Well, I did note the bit about Kerry's appeal to women, but I surely did not emphasize the obvious.

Fortunately, we have Karen Hughes on our side:

Bush adviser Karen Hughes later criticized Heinz Kerry twice -- first for remarks ``indicative of an unfortunate mind-set that seeks to divide women based on who works at home and who works outside the home'' and later for an apology she called ``worse because she left out the very important real job of a mother.''

Laura is properly above the fray:

Laura Bush said Thursday that Teresa Heinz Kerry didn't need to apologize for saying she couldn't remember whether the first lady had ever had ``a real job.''

``She apologized but she didn't even really need to apologize,'' Mrs. Bush told reporters at a coffee shop before attending a rally for President Bush. ``I know how tough it is and actually I know those trick questions.''

Hmm. She is above the fray, unless she put an emphasis on "I", as in "I know how tough it is and actually I know those trick questions."

More Times coverage here.

Comments

[Aubrey]

The most common greeting at the Democratic Convention is "Where do you teach?" Let's see if the Republicans can do anything with this.

[Doug Halsted]

I hope the GOP can do something about it, but the NEA is totally in Kerry's pocket

[Mrs. E]

When she says 'validation' is she talking about her ego? Does that explain why its a 'bit bigger?" I do not want this woman representing me. And if you thought Hillary ran the White House, what would Teraaaasa do?

[mikem]

The wannabe First Neurotic has apologized for not knowing that the First Lady was a teacher. Heinz strikes me as someone struggling constantly to act normal while she contends with her inner demons. Four years of her as First Lady would be a sad spectacle indeed.

[Fritz]

I guess in the Kerry household, Mary Cheney being gay and what she thinks is more well known than Laura Bush being a teacher. I wonder if the sparkle in the eye reference was some type of sexual innuendo?

[Jim Elbe]

Yes Mr. Maguire, you do seem peeved. And, you are a better man for it! Somehow though, I doubt that your suggestions will be followed.

[Lesley]

Am I incensed by Teresa's remarks?

Heck no. I am positively chortling with JOY. Every time this woman opens her mouth, she shoves her well-heeled foot right in.

John Heinz's death was a terrible tragedy for Teresa. He was probably the only person in the world who didn't pander to her and, subsequently, she has lived in a bubble in which she is never questioned or contradicted because the sycophantic toadies who surround her want to insure she keeps signing those checks.

Sad, really.

[themarkman]

I wrote her a letter.

[Crank]

Note that she hasn't apologized for the slam at stay-home moms as never having had "a real job." And shouldn't this be the point where the junior Senator from NY points out that being First Lady is too a real job?

Teresa's problem isn't candor, it's that she has repeatedly stepped over the line of accepted public behavior while launching personal attacks on the Bush camp. By her standards, Paul Begala is also a charming free spirit.

[Razzen]

May be off-topic, but since it did come up in Tom's post and the comments thought I'd post it. The origin of the term "free spirit" as it's used in our modern lexicon (one who bucks the trends and undermines accepted doctrine) comes from Nietzsche, who employed it (der Freigeist) to describe those rare, insightful individuals who sought to discover actual truth. As we've seen from this latest episode, to call Mrs. Heinz-Kerry a "free spirit" is to denegrate the concept entirely.

In a just world, women like THK would be the chamber maids to women of intelligence, grace and integrity like Mrs. Bush.

[The Kid]

Could the first lady get away with something like:

Oh, she’s of foreign birth, you know, and sometimes misspeaks. When she’s unsure of what she wants to say, this former librarian suggests that she first look it up in her Funk & Wagnall’s.

Or

I don’t expect everyone to know how I made my living, earned my way. Nor should everyone expect to know how she did either.

Meow.

[Gary]

Why should she have to get her act together? John's act certainly isn't. He's actually given up on that and is now just relying on the MSM's help to save his butt. And even all of the MSM can't prevent anything that makes him look foolish from becoming public. He's just to pathetic.

[Elenor C.]

Don't overlook the possibility that the explanation may be personal, not political. It's not clear Teresa thinks of herself very much as John Kerry's wife. She refers to herself in this same article as his "companion". As late as 2002 she was still referring to John Heinz as her "husband" or her "late husband" even in the presence of Kerry, and supposedly she still wore her engagement ring from Heinz. I don't think it's coincidence Kerry talked about his mother when asked at the debate about the women in his life (nor that the President talked about his wife). Kerry might be able to rein his wife in, but it's not clear he has one -- and he may be unable to do anything about his "companion."

[Rob Read]

Is Kerry gay? He seems to have a love of parks and tight cycling shorts!

When he was in the woods he "shot someone in the back" maybe it was George Michael?

[Veeshir]

I'm with crank. I don't think it was a 'gracious apology' as it's being characterized.
She didn't apologize for slamming stay-at-home moms, she apologized because she didn't know Mrs Bush had had a 'real job'.
Anybody who doesn't think raising kids is a real job is obviously out of touch. What does she think of the nannies who raise her peer's kids? Is that a real job?
I would say more so than simply marrying money, as she did.
Not a gracious apology, just another out of place remark from a walking time-bomb.

[Jim B]

This wasn't an apology to Laura: it was an apology to the NEA. There wasn't even a hint of sincerity in it.

If Teresa hadn't inadvertantly slammed one of the biggest Democratic special interest groups, there wouldn't have been another word about it. Teresa thinks herself exceedingly clever for her condescending insults about "little people" as she so obviously considers pretty much everyone else.

I doubt very much that Teresa even had anything to do with the apology. My guess is the wording came directly from campaign HQ. The failure to acknowledge at-home moms was probably not an oversight either - married women with children are overwhelmingly for Bush. It's just another in the "you're an idiot/fascist/fool if you're the kind who would vote for Bush" series of insults the Kerry campaign has issued during this electoral season.

[Brian]

You must be really worried if you are making such a big deal out of absolutely nothing.

[Nancy]

You are right. We shouldn't be so worried about this. In a couple weeks we can happily forget all about Heinz-Kerry, and she can go back to the security of her John-John's undivided attention while she nurses her inner demons. Anyway, as long as she keeps speaking she's doing our job for us. And Laura Bush's reply puts the whining Terahza to shame. Touche! No worries here!

[TM]

Well, the NY Post must be worried, too - they put it on the front page for Thursday.

And I'm with the Crank, too - this apology leaves out a lot. I need to do an UPDATE.

[Tony Iovino]

I think the apology was worse than the initial statement. You have to figure they "teamed" the apology before releasing it-- and it excluded Laura's job as mother.

Why is that even mildly significant? Because it shows the Kerry team's tin ear-- that apology wasn't for Laura Bush, or homemakers-- it was for the teacher's union!

And if anyone thinks that the First Lady "position" is without significance, may I remind you of the furor caused throughout the middle East when Lady Hillary kissed and praised Arafat's wife after she had just defamed Israel? Does it matter as much as the Presidency--obviously not. But it matters.

Edwards would be a heart be away, but Teresa would only be a pillow's width!

[ElKapiTom]

This Foot-in-Mouth Needs a Little Ketchup

Hanna Rosin of the Washington Post wrote this morning that with the apology “Heinz Kerry just stepped into it deeper [by implying] that Laura Bush only had a job when she had a paying job, and not during all those years she was raising the twins, or supporting her husband, or being first lady….
In true form, the First Lady graciously accepted the apology, but Rosin concluded her article by contrasting these two women’s styles. She cast Laura Bush as Melanie in Gone with the Wind opposite Theresa as Scarlet O’Hare—OUCH!
I’m guessing that we may not be hearing from THK for some time. Maybe while she is resting far from the campaign trail she can take a moment to read the following thoughts on motherhood. One hundred years ago this spring, on March 13, 1905, to be exact, the President of the United States gave the speech excerpted below before the National Congress of Mothers. Read the complete speech at: http://www.bartleby.com/268/10/29.html

[Scott Harris]

Because we ALL know that being a public school teacher and a librarian with a Masters Degree is not a REAL JOB. And we ALL know that 66-year old Marie-Antoinette-wannabee condiment heiresses are so much more mature than 57-year old First Ladies. (You would think 57 would be a sacred number for a Heinz heiress.) I guess a short stint as a low level staffer at the United Nations after being raised in colonial Africa, and prior to marrying John Heinz is "what life is about." It must have been her experience at the UN that attracted John Kerry to Tuh-RAY-sah Heinz, not her millions of George Washington portraits. After all, we all know that John gets a woody for the UN.

Comics everywhere are voting for John Kerry solely on the expectations of the ever quotable Heiress and the rich material she provides.