Teresa Heinz Kerry As Secret Weapon

Long Newsweek cover story of someone more real and direct than Kerry and his staff.

Kerry's wife was a registered Republican until last year, muses publicly that she's not reflexively pro-choice and, perhaps most shockingly, when asked a question, generally answers it. Even the wife of the guy running for city council knows to say it's clear her man will win. But Teresa, when asked for her read on how things are going in her husband's race, says: "I can't tell. The only people I see now are Democrats."

On the matter of what Kerry needs to do to win in this closely divided country, she is equally straightforward. "Be himself, be free or be loose, whatever you want to call it. In some settings you see that and in some you don't." On the topic of her own campaign role, she jokes, "You mean the machinations?"

Asked about her party loyalties, Teresa says, "My late husband understood the marketplace and believed it was incumbent on the government to harness the forces of the market" for the public good. "Historically, the Democratic Party has not really partaken of what's afforded in the marketplace," while Republicans, she says, have gone to the other extreme. "Somewhere between the two lies common sense, and John understands that fully well. What really upsets him now is, the deficit's growing too fast."

When she meets up with Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York at a recent fund-raiser, she confesses that Secret Service protection has her slightly freaked out. At this stage of the race, "it's just not as personal" as it was back in Iowa and New Hampshire, where she really enjoyed long chats with voters. "All politics is personal," Maloney tells her, and gets a hug in return. When Maloney asks her what she thought of the president's speech on Iraq, though, Teresa stiffens. "If this is what America wants, then God bless us all," she answers. "I'm sure he's a good guy deep down, but a little thought" would be appreciated, she says, tapping a finger against her temple.