I hope she's happy

I am watching a C-Span rebroadcast of the dedication of the Heinz College (yes, I know it's Christmas Day, but my geekiness knows no season). Teresa Heinz is speaking, honoring her late first husband. She is beautiful and articulate and so wise as she talks about water pollution and the impact on our health, especially the health of our children.

I think she's great, and I'm sorry that she isn't our First Lady today. I know that there are some who blame her for Senator Kerry's loss in 2004, but I'm not one of them. If Americans weren't ready for a foreign-born, independent, feisty First Lady who would represent us elegantly and intelligently abroad, then that was our loss.

But I wonder about her. Is she happier now, as a Democratic Senator's wife and a Republican Senator's widow, able to pick and choose when she uses her celebrity to interact with the public? I hope so. She's had a complicated life and she seems to have kept her head and her integrity. Atta girl, and Merry Christmas.