Patriotism and optimism are meant to be defining characteristics of John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Over the past few years, liberals have felt increasing pressure through veiled attacks against their support for particular issues over others as being unpatriotic. I’ll preface my comments then as follows: I believe that the vast majority of liberals, likely you reading this right now, are true patriots. Conservatives, such as myself, and liberals simply disagree on the means to which we might end this horrible worldwide conflict and how we ought to distribute resources in the most efficient manner. It would not pain me one bit to even go so far as to say that many (certainly not all) of the overall goals held by either Democrats or Republicans are shared, but rather the means are the grounds upon which we differ. I do not believe that conflicting viewpoints upon these issues constitutes unpatriotic behavior. Indeed, I believe quite the opposite: dissent from any consensus is the fundamental crux of what holds our democracy together.

With that in mind, it is startling and shocking when the wife of presidential candidate John Kerry, Theresa Heinz Kerry, says things so blind and rash as to shake my faith in my belief in the loyal opposition in this country. Now before I go into an attack, let me say I have enormous respect for her philanthropic deeds across the country. She may be the wealthy heiress to a fortune earned by her late husband, but at least she uses that money to try to help others. That said, Heinz Kerry’s role in her husband’s campaign is more of a political detriment than a helping hand.

Boorish remarks made to the Business Journal of Phoenix when referencing a possible capture of Osama bin Laden such as “I wouldn’t be surprised if he appeared in the next month” do little to serve the Kerry campaign. Paranoia over possible collusion and corruption by the Bush administration to spring Osama’s capture as an ‘October surprise’ certainly plays well with the extreme leftists in this nation, but does little to support Kerry’s supposedly patriotic and optimistic candidacy. The capture of Osama bin Laden, be it before the election or after, should be a moment celebrated by all Americans, not chastised for political purposes by either party. Certainly some will claim that if indeed he were captured, Republicans would try to use this to their advantage, but they too would be wrong to do so. The capture of bin Laden is an American goal, not a partisan one. People wonder why Republicans sometimes claim that Democrats can seem unpatriotic: this is why.

The list of gaffes and foolish remarks made by Heinz Kerry only get worse. She claimed that only idiots wouldn’t support Kerrycare (also known as Hillarycare 2.0), Kerry’s health plan that includes spending increases of hundreds of billions of dollars to be financed properly. Democrats constantly claim incivility on behalf of Republican actions, and sometimes not without good reason, but why is calling everyone who disagrees with her an idiot is only good enough to evidence her strength and independence? Doesn’t that speak more toward her callous nature, malicious attitude and uncivil disposition to those who oppose her worldview?

Beyond even the lovely commentary provided by the woman who may become America’s first African American (she’s from Mozambique) first lady, her persona works against the Kerry campaign’s better interests as well. First off, you may wonder why the hyphen was missing from the last sentence in between African and American. The reason is, of course, Heinz Kerry’s claims of being an African American throughout much of the 1990’s, and then defending that position by claiming in an almost Clintonesque by having her spokesman state, “African-hyphen-American belongs to blacks.” Regardless of who is ultimately right, what does she have to gain by claiming to be African? Who cares, and so why make a big deal of it? There wouldn’t happen to be any subtle attempts at manipulation hidden in that, would there? I would hope not, but hopes usually fail in the light of obvious reality.

Her speech at the Democratic National Convention did not help her image either. She came across as an elitist with little to say about her husband’s qualifications for the presidency and much to say about herself. Hillary would be proud, but even the 42nd first lady at least speaks English the whole time. Heinz Kerry’s French and Portuguese may impress some, but it comes off as little more than condescension to most. Any attempts Kerry may have had to try to negate his French mannerisms, support, attitude or beliefs are stunted by the poor response most people have to his wife and her ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.

Vice President Cheney told a senator to “f*ck off,” and if that angers you, so be it. You probably hate or fear him anyways, but you are correct in stating that he was wrong and foolish to make such a statement (as much as I may sympathize with the rationale behind it). However, Heinz Kerry’s comments are vastly more egregious and numerous, serving no purpose in the intelligent discourse of ideas in this country. I wonder how many women find Heinz Kerry to be brave compared to how many find her to be a fool. My gender disqualifies me to provide such a response, but I would bet on the later before the former. At least, in places other than Madison. For one of the wealthiest women alive today, it is quite ironic that Heinz Kerry’s political liabilities outweigh her economic assets, and John Kerry would be wise to keep her in the bottle.

Zach Stern ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science.