Mama T

I have a long history of paying attention to Teresa Heinz Kerry. I went to college in Pittsburgh, PA, where the Heinz's are from. The Heinz "pickle plant" was near a bridge I crossed to work every day on the Norsside, at Allegheny General Hospital. There absolutely is no other real ketchup than Heinz, in my opinion.

That said, I cannot say I know very many facts about her, no personal history or list of specific charities in which she was active. But I do have that sense of her that everyone who's known (or, rather, known about) Teresa Heinz for a long time has: an ineffable strength and stalwartness. She was always just there, a force of nature or a Happy Given.

These days, the Republicans don't seem to know what to do with her. This is similar to 12 years ago when they didn't quite know what to do with Hillary Rodham Clinton, didn't know what to do with a strong woman who spoke her own mind. Back then, they resorted to name-calling and piling-on. Back then, in the hangover following the longest political bender in American history (that would be "the Reagan Years"), shrill voices from the right were permitted to be sexist, frustrated Gordon-Gekko-wannabes exercised their personal rights to free speech in the course of trying to knock her down a peg or two.

I can't imagine them succeeding with Teresa Heinz. She's a good person, she's decent. And other than having been married to politicians, she remains separate from politics.

More than that, according to the woman herself, we queerfolk have a mom in the Whitehouse! We can refer to her, if we like, as "Mama T". I'm thrilled; I'm honored. And in the context of that statement, I'll try to be as good as son to her as my own wonderful mom says I am to her.

I have to say it again: we'll have a mom in the Whitehouse! And folks, that's more than even Mary Cheney can say today.