Bump! Go Fred Go!
PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL.... for sure!
Posted on 09/06/2007 1:48:44 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Vicki Keller was on her way out the door Wednesday when she was asked about her son-in-law's imminent run for the White House.
"I don't know what there is to say, really," said the Naperville resident as she headed to Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, Ron. The couple planned to be with Jeri Kehn, Vicki's daughter, at midnight, when Kehn's husband, Fred Thompson, officially planned to become the newest addition to the GOP presidential race.
Although published reports said Kehn, 40, has been urging Thompson, 65, to toss his hat in the ring and is active behind the scenes, she has maintained a very low public profile in recent months, and has asked her parents to do the same. The couple, who were married in Naperville in 2002, have a preschool-aged daughter and an infant son at home outside Washington, D.C.
Destined for greatness
One local figure who knew Kehn years ago found her pretty fit for the role of first spouse back then. Even though she "seemed like a real normal kid," Robert Schillerstrom saw something special in the Naperville North High School student when he taught a Youth in Government class at the school in the early 1980s. "She was really smart, energetic - someone you really thought would go someplace," said Schillerstrom, chairman of the DuPage County Board and a Naperville attorney. "She was someone I was impressed by."
During her time at North, Kehn spent three years as a member of the esteemed, three-dozen-strong drill team, the Starlettes, who in her junior year clinched the statewide championship. In those days, she sported a Farrah Fawcett-style mane of cascading brunette waves.
Good for Naperville
Others who have followed Thompson's road to the race agreed Wednesday that the Kehn connection means that a victory for the former U.S. senator would surely affect Naperville.
Mayor George Pradel, who met the would-be first couple when they came to town for the rededication of the Doughboy statue in Burlington Park four years ago, recalled that no one seemed to know Thompson had served in the U.S. Senate for two terms; they recognized him only as District Attorney Arthur Branch, his stern persona in the "Law and Order" television series.
"He was just a super man, and she's so pretty," said Pradel, who added that he has spotted the couple in Washington since then, but "I was too shy to go over and say, 'Hey, I'm from Naperville.'"
He concurred with Schillerstrom's assessment that a Thompson presidency "would only be a good thing," saying the race will be exciting to watch.
"I think it would be wonderful for Naperville to have the president and first lady from Naperville," Pradel said. "They would bring a lot of notoriety to Naperville - good notoriety."
State Sen. Randy Hultgren thought so, too.
"The ties here would be excellent," said Hultgren, R-Wheaton, who until now has been holding off on giving his formal support to any of the current candidates for the party's nomination. He will give serious thought to backing Thompson, he said, and Kehn is one of the reasons for that.
"Naperville is a perfect spot to have a first lady from. It would be wonderful," Hultgren said. "One of the best places to live in the nation being Naperville, it would be a great thing to have someone in the White House who comes from here."
State Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, also met the candidate at the Doughboy re-dedication in 2003. Likening Thompson to "everybody's favorite uncle" in observations earlier this summer, Dillard gave his then-potential candidacy good chances for success.
"Certainly Fred Thompson is a household name, and a very serious and viable candidate for president," he said. "It's exciting, just like it's exciting to have Napervillians on 'American Idol' or 'The Apprentice,' to have Sen. Thompson's wife come from Naperville."
Gayl Ferraro, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in DuPage County, said Kehn's impact on the campaign locally probably will hinge on how extensively she is involved in it.
"It may draw in some people to support him statewide," Ferraro said. "I don't hear a lot of Republicans talking about who they're supporting. If they step up ... it may pull in some of the Jeri Kehn support.
As for Naperville, Ferraro agrees the campaign is good for the city.
"If they were going to focus on Illinois, I would think (Naperville) would be a good spot to do it," Ferraro said.
Tough competition
For the past three months, national voter polls have shown the 65-year-old Thompson running second to former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who opened a fully staffed campaign office Aug. 22 in Lisle.
Thompson is competing for conservative votes in a field of Republicans who don't seem very strong right now, said Steve Caliendo, associate professor of political science at North Central College. Depending on how conservatively he casts himself, Thompson may or may not do well among Naperville voters who tend to hold moderate views on social issues such as abortion and gay rights, Caliendo said.
"It seems like some conservatives worry that he is not conservative enough," he said. "If that is true, he might do very well in DuPage County."
Naperville would become a first lady's hometown if a presidential win landed Thompson and his wife, Kehn, in the White House. While that probably wouldn't translate into extra federal money for projects in Naperville, it would shine a spotlight on the city, Caliendo said.
"I do think there will be an overarching theme of recognition for Naperville across the country," he said.
Yes it is. Indeed.
Here we are at post #21 and I must finally explain that it's a parody of some of the silly (I mean stupid silly, not cute silly) comments that have been made about Jeri Kehn here on FR.
If you are new, this is the Freeper Fredquarters. Ignore the Ron Paul trolls.
Leni, I totally agree with your post. I think it’s because we get some weird people who relish in posting pics of the women in the campaign in very unflattering photos. It’s like high school.
Now, that said, unflattering pics of Hillary don’t offend me at all. ~/;o)
Last election, the Heavy Breathers had a ball posting pics over and over of Florida U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris in tee-shirt poses on her horse. Every thread on her had a HB egging others on to post the pics....and of course there were the subtle comments like "I'd hit her".
It's obvious that the Heavy Breathers not only don't respect the femininity of Republican women, but they apparently don't respect women of achievement, either.
I wonder if they would post pictures repeatedly of their wives and daughters caught in cleavage or tee-shirt shots out of their pasts on a popular nation-wide political website.
I'm sure they wouldn't because they're chicken-shiite.
Leni
Bump! Go Fred Go!
PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL.... for sure!
They all look so surprisingly *normal* and relaxed.
Here’s hoping that’s our next First Family.
And we all know that Naperville North is a better high school than Maine East.
I LOVE that one. The look of adoration on her face is unmistakable.
Great picture.
Beautiful family.
It’ll be cool to have kids running around the White House.
That too.
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