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American Morning

Interview With Teresa Heinz-Kerry

Aired February 02, 2004 - 08:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now that her husband is seen as the democratic front-runner, Teresa Heinz-Kerry is hearing a lot on the campaign trail -- America's next first lady. Of course, it still is a little bit too early for that.
The latest poll numbers show that John Kerry is leading big in Arizona and Missouri, two of the major states that will hold primaries tomorrow.

Joining us this morning from Saint Louis is the candidate's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Kerry. Thanks for being with us.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: Good morning. How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

You've had a good couple of weeks -- you, as a couple; you, as a campaign overall. Several weeks ago, though, everybody was writing off your husband to some degree. Were you convinced still that he would be able to connect with the voters back then?

HEINZ-KERRY: Well, I guess because I have campaigned so hard on a daily basis, both in Iowa and in New Hampshire, as well as in other places, you get a feel for what's going on, on the ground. And I think people weren't looking at the real tell signs back in early December. And the numbers, as people saw them, didn't really reflect the reality of the Iowa caucuses. And I felt that we could come at least a very good second in Iowa and maybe win it way before.

O'BRIEN: Did you always support John Kerry running for president? I mean, how did he approach you and say, I'm going to run for president. I've to imagine -- I mean, you know a lot about politics. You've been in the game for a long time, or been around people in the game for a long time. It is a big challenge on lots of levels. Were you up for it right from the get-go?

HEINZ-KERRY: No. No, and he didn't tell me I'm going to, you know, stick it. No, he didn't. It was -- I had to get there, because I was really not -- I was a little afraid of it. Not a little. It really is an awesome thing, and it's also a great honor. But it's a huge responsibility, and it's something you really have to be ready for and want.

And I felt about a year and a half ago, a year and a bit ago, that John was really prepared as a human being, as much as anybody can be prepared, to assume some of the responsibilities, you know, that faces a globalized society, this complex society.

And, you know, I'm not so young anymore, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but I'm not so young. And you get to a point in your life where you begin to think, you know, how long am I going to be here? What difference can you make? And I work very hard every day on a variety of issues that confront us in America in our daily lives, and I really felt that it would be really not wise and actually selfish if I kept him from running.

And so, I made peace with that. And, of course, once I make peace with something and I believe in all these issues and the fact that he can make a contribution, I soldiered behind him. You know, I say he he's like a good wine. You know, it takes time to mature, and then it gets really good and you can sip it. I think he's at the stage now.

O'BRIEN: He's at the stage to be sipped.

HEINZ-KERRY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Describe your role in his campaign, as opposed to just beyond the soldiering on, you got on board. What do you do on a daily basis?

HEINZ-KERRY: I campaign. I am not a strategist. I don't go to strategy meetings. I am out there on the stump, much the way that he is, too, except that he is also, obviously, part of the strategy, but (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the stump this much. There isn't really much time, truly, to be doing that strategy. That kind of thinking has to be done ahead, and then you have to delegate and rely on very good people to implement it and to guide it.

I'm sure he has time to make calls during the day on things that he wants to know, worries, or wants to be -- have explained. But I know that I personally talk to him -- you know, try to talk to him. And, you know, in some of these early states, telephones don't work everywhere, and we all become so dependent on instant little telephones.

And so, it's a frustrating thing during the day trying to check on something, ask something with him, or he with me. But I just talk to him, you know, several times a day, little blips here and there. But he's in one place, I'm in another, and that's how you maximize campaigning. That's how I've always campaigned with my late husband, too.

O'BRIEN: Have you thought about what kind of first lady you'd like to be?

HEINZ-KERRY: Yes. Well, not specifically too much, but I know I want to continue to do my work. And I'm allowed to do that by law, and that's what I want to do. And, obviously -- and as much as my work is creating models to both prevent and solve some of our society's problems from Green Design to use in child development and education and urban redevelopment and health -- women's health and economic security. There is a whole slew of things.

And, you know, our foundations, our endowments create a lot of models in a sense, like venture capital does. And you learn an awful lot, and it's not terribly -- you're not fixed on that as you really look for answers. And I think that kind of experience and sharing those kinds of observations are a good thing to do, because communities are different, locales are different, people are different. And I can bring that to the equation.

I don't want a policy job. And I guess if you ask me just a very short sentence, I -- two things a spouse would have to do be a woman, or eventually, I hope, a man, is to be a strong support. And I mean by that keep your president strong, healthy, keep them honest. And then, by that I mean, remember who he is in his heart, why he got there, and help him -- help him keep his ego inflated or her ego, if they get knocked too much, and deflated a little if it gets too high.

O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, the job is to be the spouse.

HEINZ-KERRY: That's the most important thing. It's a very hard thing. It's probably a lonely thing, and I think that an honest spouse, a good friend is probably the biggest value that a person in those situations can have, just as in any marriage.

O'BRIEN: Teresa Heinz Kerry, nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

HEINZ-KERRY: Thank you so much, Soledad, bye.

O'BRIEN: We appreciate it.

HEINZ-KERRY: OK, bye-bye.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired February 2, 2004 - 08:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now that her husband is seen as the democratic front-runner, Teresa Heinz-Kerry is hearing a lot on the campaign trail -- America's next first lady. Of course, it still is a little bit too early for that.
The latest poll numbers show that John Kerry is leading big in Arizona and Missouri, two of the major states that will hold primaries tomorrow.

Joining us this morning from Saint Louis is the candidate's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Kerry. Thanks for being with us.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: Good morning. How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

You've had a good couple of weeks -- you, as a couple; you, as a campaign overall. Several weeks ago, though, everybody was writing off your husband to some degree. Were you convinced still that he would be able to connect with the voters back then?

HEINZ-KERRY: Well, I guess because I have campaigned so hard on a daily basis, both in Iowa and in New Hampshire, as well as in other places, you get a feel for what's going on, on the ground. And I think people weren't looking at the real tell signs back in early December. And the numbers, as people saw them, didn't really reflect the reality of the Iowa caucuses. And I felt that we could come at least a very good second in Iowa and maybe win it way before.

O'BRIEN: Did you always support John Kerry running for president? I mean, how did he approach you and say, I'm going to run for president. I've to imagine -- I mean, you know a lot about politics. You've been in the game for a long time, or been around people in the game for a long time. It is a big challenge on lots of levels. Were you up for it right from the get-go?

HEINZ-KERRY: No. No, and he didn't tell me I'm going to, you know, stick it. No, he didn't. It was -- I had to get there, because I was really not -- I was a little afraid of it. Not a little. It really is an awesome thing, and it's also a great honor. But it's a huge responsibility, and it's something you really have to be ready for and want.

And I felt about a year and a half ago, a year and a bit ago, that John was really prepared as a human being, as much as anybody can be prepared, to assume some of the responsibilities, you know, that faces a globalized society, this complex society.

And, you know, I'm not so young anymore, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but I'm not so young. And you get to a point in your life where you begin to think, you know, how long am I going to be here? What difference can you make? And I work very hard every day on a variety of issues that confront us in America in our daily lives, and I really felt that it would be really not wise and actually selfish if I kept him from running.

And so, I made peace with that. And, of course, once I make peace with something and I believe in all these issues and the fact that he can make a contribution, I soldiered behind him. You know, I say he he's like a good wine. You know, it takes time to mature, and then it gets really good and you can sip it. I think he's at the stage now.

O'BRIEN: He's at the stage to be sipped.

HEINZ-KERRY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Describe your role in his campaign, as opposed to just beyond the soldiering on, you got on board. What do you do on a daily basis?

HEINZ-KERRY: I campaign. I am not a strategist. I don't go to strategy meetings. I am out there on the stump, much the way that he is, too, except that he is also, obviously, part of the strategy, but (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the stump this much. There isn't really much time, truly, to be doing that strategy. That kind of thinking has to be done ahead, and then you have to delegate and rely on very good people to implement it and to guide it.

I'm sure he has time to make calls during the day on things that he wants to know, worries, or wants to be -- have explained. But I know that I personally talk to him -- you know, try to talk to him. And, you know, in some of these early states, telephones don't work everywhere, and we all become so dependent on instant little telephones.

And so, it's a frustrating thing during the day trying to check on something, ask something with him, or he with me. But I just talk to him, you know, several times a day, little blips here and there. But he's in one place, I'm in another, and that's how you maximize campaigning. That's how I've always campaigned with my late husband, too.

O'BRIEN: Have you thought about what kind of first lady you'd like to be?

HEINZ-KERRY: Yes. Well, not specifically too much, but I know I want to continue to do my work. And I'm allowed to do that by law, and that's what I want to do. And, obviously -- and as much as my work is creating models to both prevent and solve some of our society's problems from Green Design to use in child development and education and urban redevelopment and health -- women's health and economic security. There is a whole slew of things.

And, you know, our foundations, our endowments create a lot of models in a sense, like venture capital does. And you learn an awful lot, and it's not terribly -- you're not fixed on that as you really look for answers. And I think that kind of experience and sharing those kinds of observations are a good thing to do, because communities are different, locales are different, people are different. And I can bring that to the equation.

I don't want a policy job. And I guess if you ask me just a very short sentence, I -- two things a spouse would have to do be a woman, or eventually, I hope, a man, is to be a strong support. And I mean by that keep your president strong, healthy, keep them honest. And then, by that I mean, remember who he is in his heart, why he got there, and help him -- help him keep his ego inflated or her ego, if they get knocked too much, and deflated a little if it gets too high.

O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, the job is to be the spouse.

HEINZ-KERRY: That's the most important thing. It's a very hard thing. It's probably a lonely thing, and I think that an honest spouse, a good friend is probably the biggest value that a person in those situations can have, just as in any marriage.

O'BRIEN: Teresa Heinz Kerry, nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

HEINZ-KERRY: Thank you so much, Soledad, bye.

O'BRIEN: We appreciate it.

HEINZ-KERRY: OK, bye-bye.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.