Teresa Heinz Kerry Apologizes For Remarks On Laura Bush
WASHINGTON (AP)--Teresa Heinz Kerry apologized Wednesday for a remark in a
newspaper interview in which she said she doesn't know if Laura Bush has ever
had "a real job."
She apologized for having forgotten about the first lady's 10-year stint as
a schoolteacher and librarian. In an interview published Wednesday, USA Today
asked the wife of Democratic candidate John Kerry if she would be different
from Laura Bush as a first lady.
"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," Heinz Kerry said. "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."
Heinz Kerry said she sees her age as a benefit - she is 66 and Bush 57. "I'm
older, and my validation of what I do 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 said.
Laura Bush worked in public schools in Texas from 1968 to 1977, the year she
married George W. Bush.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Heinz Kerry said: "I had forgotten that
Mrs. Bush had worked as a school teacher and librarian, and there couldn't be
a more important job than teaching our children. As someone who has been both
a full-time mom and full-time in work force, I know we all have valuable
experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service
to the country as first lady and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her
important work in the past."
Earlier in the day, Karen Hughes, an adviser to President George W. Bush,
criticized Heinz Kerry's remarks as "indicative of an unfortunate mind-set
that seeks to divide women based on who works at home and who works outside
the home."
On the Net:
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