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IN PRAISE OF UNRULY WOMEN



By Arianna Huffington



Teresa Heinz Kerry is a breath of fresh air, so why are the media choking

on it?



Almost every story about her these days includes at least one snarky

remark - usually attacking her for her refusal to endlessly regurgitate

the same preapproved talking points.



According to the chattering class, Heinz Kerry is - and I quote - "too

outspoken," "too opinionated," "slightly zany," "eccentric and

unpredictable," "the queen of direct" and - cover your ears, kids - "says

what she thinks, when she thinks it."



In other words, she's an unconventional straight shooter. The horror!



(Reporters also seem to have a big problem with her hair, which has

variously been described as "unkempt," "unruly," "humidity-frizzed,"

"voluminous" and "expensively colored a rich auburn" - but that's follicle

fodder for another column.)



Even Maureen Dowd, no slouch herself in the independent-thinking

department, felt compelled to write not one but two columns in the course

of 10 days slamming Teresa for, among other things, being "flaky."



You gotta love this about our media mavens: They are constantly bemoaning

the lack of forthrightness in our pubic figures - the vast majority of

whom wouldn't know a straight answer if it bit them in the butt. But when

they are finally presented with someone who doesn't (pardon the

expression) beat around the bush, they start sharpening the long knives.



They're like a bunch of little kids who have gotten so used to being fed

nothing but vanilla ice cream for dessert that a serving of Rocky Road

with some sprinkles on top leaves them sputtering and crying, "Yuck!"



Most of the American public, on the other hand, possess a far more

developed and discerning palate - and can appreciate more complex and

piquant flavors.



And when it comes to spicing up the political dessert tray, Teresa Heinz

Kerry is one of the most flavorful and compelling public figures to hit

the national stage in decades.



When I first met her in Washington in 1980, she was a very popular

Republican wife, with views very similar to the ones she holds today. Now

she's a Democratic wife, a philanthropist who oversees a foundation that

gives tens of millions to causes like the environment, healthcare and

early education, a loving mother, grandmother and stepmother. She grew up

in Mozambique, went to college in South Africa where she marched against

apartheid, is fluent in five languages, and learned so much about medicine

from her oncologist father that friends and family have nicknamed her "Dr.

T."



And unlike most politicians, she has a natural gift for intimacy and

interacts with campaign crowds of 5,000 as if she were sitting around

chatting with a small group of friends.



Yes, she is indeed unabashedly open with her opinions on everything from

the war in Iraq ("I would never have gone to war this way") to George Bush

("fazed by complexity") to Botox treatments (she's had them).



But isn't that what we claim to want from those in public life? Or are we

comfortable with authenticity only when it's a contrivance manufactured to

appear authentic?



"I am the product of living in dictatorships," Teresa has said. "It makes

you cherish the ability to be yourself, to have feelings and to speak them

when asked. People say I'm blunt. I say, 'No, just honest.'"



It's this honesty that has led the media to brand her with the scarlet O

for offbeat - a caricature given national credence by a Newsweek cover

that trumpeted: "Is John Kerry's Heiress Wife a Loose Cannon or Crazy Like

a Fox?"



It was character assassination by headline - especially since the cover

line was not in any way reflective of the story inside, which painted

Heinz Kerry as warm, smart, alive, funny, and, yes, brutally honest.



It's hard to imagine that headline - which was, incidentally, written by a

man - being used to describe a man. As Marlo Thomas once said: "A man has

to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless. All a woman has to do is put you

on hold."



We may have come a long way, baby, but there is no doubt that there is

still a double standard when it comes to women in politics - especially

political wives - who are supposed to be smart but not so smart that

they're threatening, and strong but not so strong that they are

intimidating.



It's a high-wire tightrope act, one that's almost impossible to pull off

to the political media's satisfaction. And this at a time when girl power

is blossoming in other parts of our culture, especially sports and

entertainment. Last week's Olympic Trials featured women going faster,

higher, stronger than ever before. And our movie screens are filled with

indomitable, determined women like "Kill Bill's" Beatrix Kiddo or Keira

Knightley's kick-***** Guinevere in the new "King Arthur."



But try to apply these attributes to politics and the media start acting

like it's 1958 - they suddenly don't know how to handle smart,

accomplished, complex women. Judy Dean wasn't glamorous or supportive

enough, Hillary was too smart and too strong, and Teresa is too

loose-lipped and too unpredictable.



So it really isn't much of a surprise that the political wife the media

seem most comfortable with is Laura Bush, who has chosen to take on the

image of the perfect 1950s sitcom housewife.



She's the Harriet Nelson of first ladies, the quintessential deferential

spouse, praised by her husband for not "trying to butt in and always, you

know, compete" and lauded by the media for her ability "to balance

strength and subservience." I guess I missed the moment where subservience

became a virtue.



When Laura Bush was asked what advice she'd given her twin daughters

before sending them out this summer to campaign for their father, she

replied: "Stand up straight and keep your hair out of your eyes." Words to

live by - if you're Marabel Morgan. Somehow I don't think those are the

same words of wisdom Teresa Heinz Kerry passed on to her stepdaughters

before they hit the hustings.



Both Teresa and Laura are scheduled to deliver primetime speeches at their

respective party conventions. The contrast between the two - and what this

contrast says about the men in their lives - should be stark. Out on the

campaign trail, Teresa is given to in-depth discussions about health care

and global warming. Laura tends to say things like: "I'm not privy to the

policy disputes. I'm not over there at the table where everyone is

actually formulating specific policy." Heaven forbid.



"We need to honor women in all their complexity," Teresa Heinz Kerry told

me. "It's time that we acknowledge the wisdom women have acquired by

managing the chaos of daily life. Women are realists, the glue that holds

society together. They bring a reverence to life that's instinctual, not

just intellectual."



Thirty-eight million women didn't vote in 2000, many of them because they

were so disgusted with our inauthentic politics-as-usual. If even a small

percentage of them turn out this November, they could very well end up

deciding the election and the direction of the country.



So I propose that we turn on its ear the traditional good-old-boy

political litmus test - which candidate would you rather have a beer with?

Instead, let's ask the women of America: which candidate's wife would you

rather have a cup of coffee with?