Cross posted from The Democratic Daily:
John and Teresa Heinz Kerry were on 'The Today Show' this morning to discuss their new environmental book, 'This Moment On Earth.'
The interview veered a bit off course with some added discussion about the recent news about Elizabeth Edwards' cancer returning and a brief discussion on Iraq. Teresa Heinz Kerry told 'Today Show' host Meredith Vieira that "different women would make different decisions in the same situation and she will not second-guess Elizabeth Edwards' decision to carry on with her husband's presidential campaign while addressing her very serious medical issues."
"I think it is a very personal, difficult decision. I think Elizabeth is facing terrible odds," the wife of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry said. "She's a brave person. I think if you had 10 women in a room in the same role, you'd have three going this way, and four going that way ... I would make certain choices. Everybody makes their choice."
Kerry, who ran against President George W. Bush with Edwards as his running mate in 2004, told Vieira that he is "not surprised by Edwards' decision to remain on the campaign trail."
"It's a very personal decision," Kerry, a prostate cancer survivor, told Vieira. "It's one a lot of people outside really can't and shouldn't comment on. We're not them, number one. And number two, we're not privy to every bit doctors have said to them. So they have to make their decision and people have to abide by it."
Vieira asked John Kerry about Bush's remarks that the Congress is playing 'Political theater' with Iraq. Kerry said that he "still supports efforts in Congress to attempt to compel the Bush administration to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq despite the reality that Democrats do not have enough votes to overcome a promised presidential veto."
"The President has already said he'll veto any measure like this. He calls this political theater ... What do you hope to accomplish? It sounds like it is political theater," Vieira said.
"No, it is not theater at all. It is very real, very serious," Kerry said. "If you believe the war was a mistake, and you believe there is a better course, it is important for us to show leadership. And that's what we are doing ... Last year, I brought that resolution before the Senate in August. I got 13 votes. This last time, I got 48 votes. We will keep fighting and keep pushing, and that's what is important."
Back to focus on the Kerry's book, 'This Moment On Earth,' the discussion on the Edwards' news did lend itself well to one of the subjects of the Kerry's book, the environment and health - particularly the environment and cancer.
The Kerrys told Vieira that in their new book, "This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future," they write about the environmental causes of some cancers. "There is so much cancer, a lot of it, incidentally, environmentally induced in various things," John Kerry said. "Mercury, food, all kinds of chemicals — children are born today and traced with 200, 250 chemicals in their bloodstream at that moment of birth."
'The Today Show' has a 2 page excerpt from 'This Moment On Earth' available here, reprinted with the permission from the publisher, PublicAffairs.
Watch the video of the Kerry's on 'The Today Show' here. The complete transcript of the interview is available here.
For more information about the work Teresa Heinz Kerry is doing with Women's and the Environment read Karen van Hoek's post on The Unofficial Kerry Blog and check out Teresa's Womens Health & Environmental News newsletter.
On April 20, Teresa Heinz Kerry will be hosting the 11th Annual Conference on Women's Health and the Environment in Pittsburgh. The conference is free and will be held at David L. Lawrence Convention Center. More information on the conference is available here.
The Democratic Daily will be featuring an interview with Teresa Heinz Kerry on the day of the conference -- April 20.