www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/10/26/10142.shtmlTuesday, Oct. 26, 2004 1:00 a.m. EDT
Teresa to Reprise Hillary's Health Care Role
If she becomes first lady, Teresa Heinz Kerry intends to champion the cause of health-care reform, much the same way Hillary Clinton did in 1994. And just like Hillary, Teresa has her husband's backing.
In Jan. 2003, Heinz Kerry told the Boston Herald that she expected to be an "activist first lady." And her first priority would be to create a "Department of Wellness" that would stress preventive health reforms.
Until recently, Teresa's Department of Wellness had been consigned to the dustbin of wacky campaign ideas. Or so it seemed.
Then in September, John Kerry told a North Carolina crowd:
"What I'm determined to do, and it's in my health-care plan, is refocus America on something that can reduce the cost of health care significantly for all Americans, which is wellness and prevention. And I intend to have not just a Department of Health and Human Services, but a Department of Wellness."
Last week, the would-be first lady, who considers herself an amateur medical expert, advised an audience on a remedy for arthritis: Soak nine white raisins in gin and take one a day.No doubt Teresa's gin-soaked raisin remedy will be official policy in any Kerry administration Department of Wellness.