LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, exclusive: John Kerry's daughters, Vanessa and
Alexandra Kerry, in their first interview since the election.
Welcome to another edition of LARRY KING LIVE. We begin tonight for the first
two segments with two of our favorite people, the Kerry sisters. Vanessa is in
London. She is the daughter of John Kerry and his first wife, Julia Thorne.
She's on leave, by the way, from Harvard Medical School and is a Fulbright
scholar in London.
And in New York is Alexandra -- Alex Kerry. Also, the daughter of John and
Julia, has a graduate degree from the American Film Institute. She is a
filmmaker and actress. We thank them both. This is their first interview since
the election.
How tough was it for you? We'll start with Vanessa.
VANESSA KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S DAUGHTER: It was an interesting evening, certainly.
And it was sad. But I have to be very honest. I really felt just the greatest
sadness for all the people we'd met along the trail, who had given up their
hopes, who had given up their prayers, their real desire for change. When you
see somebody and you have someone cry on your shoulder and say, "I do not know
what I am going to do if your dad does not get elected," it's kind of hard not
to think about them as the evening passes, and for everybody who volunteered. It
was -- the effort, the time, I think it's just hard that you suddenly go
different ways.
KING: Just that night.
A. KERRY: Yeah. There was a roller coaster. I mean, the whole campaign had been
a roller coaster. I hear my sister laughing in my ear. So she obviously thinks
I'm underestimating what happened. I definitely ...
V. KERRY: I'm in agreement with you.
KING: Now, Vanessa, what are you shaking your head about?
V. KERRY: I guess, you know -- is it a roller coaster? It is. It's an incredible
experience, though. And I think that you live these great emotions. There are
moments of just extraordinary joy. And I remember being in Bloomer, Wisconsin
standing on a stage with fireworks going and these huge crowds and just feeling
so proud of dad and so proud of what I felt was happening in the country. And
then, you know, you have these other moments when you are so tired and you're so
exhausted and you are staring at a health econ book, and you know you can't read
another sentence. And you are trying to fight for something you believe in, and
you're thinking, "I can't take another step, I can't do this." But you want to,
and you do, and then you find yourself waking up a week after it's all over
saying, "What just happened and where am I and what's next?"
And it's just been an incredible journey and one that I am so thankful for. It
was amazing to have this time with my family. I'm actually going to see Andre
tonight, which is really nice, and it just -- you -- I just learned not to take
a single thing for granted, and I think it just is extraordinary. And I'm so, so
proud of my father, my step-mother, my sister, all of us. And of this country
for what we created as a country for the number of people who voted.
I mean, it's extraordinary when you look at the numbers who went out to vote,
and I think that that gave me a great deal of encouragement and excitement.
KING: Vanessa, is there at all a woulda-shoulda-coulda about it? Have you had
moments when you said, "Maybe an extra day in Ohio or maybe we should have done
this?"
V. KERRY: No. I mean, was the outcome what we wanted? No. But the truth is that
I think the most important thing and the place that we have all come to, and I
think came to pretty quickly, is that there are a huge number -- there are
millions of Americans that gave out the hope and belief in us and fought
alongside us and were a part of something incredible. And I think we created
something incredible as a Democratic group, as a platform, as an effort to make
a change in the country, and I think we did change this country. And I think we
will continue to, and I know that my father is not going to stop fighting.
You know, he is back in the Senate now, and he is going to be doing work on
health care, and he is going to be doing work for the American people across the
board. For him, he is still carrying this story, he is still carrying that hope.
We are as a family.
And I think for me, and I think I speak for my sister when I say this, there are
so many young people who got involved in this process for the first time, and I
think it's important that even if they cast their vote for our father or whoever
they cast their vote for, they continue to keep their idealism and their real
beliefs that they can be a part of change. Because that's what this is about.
I, for one, am actually still incredibly idealistic, and I still can credibly or
very strongly believe that you have to keep fighting for what you believe in,
because it's only when you stop that you've truly lost. And I just -- you know,
I am looking forward to the next months and even years ahead. I might be doing
it through a health policy angle, but that's what's important to me and that's
how I keep fighting. And I think we're all going to pick our battles and keep
going forward.
KING: We're back. Vanessa Kerry is in London. Alexandra Kerry is in New York.
Vanessa, would you want to go through it again? Would you want your dad to try
again?
V. KERRY: I have to say, I think despite the outcome, this was the most
incredible experience I've had to date in many, many ways. It was a real honor
and a real privilege to be a part of this campaign, to meet the people, to hear
the stories, to work with everyone. I for one, just to address sort of the last
question, we're so proud of everybody on this campaign for how hard they fought,
for fighting for what they believe in. And I think that everybody I watched be a
part of this, I thought they did extraordinary jobs. And whether it's my family
or people involved in this campaign, and I personally would do it again in a
heartbeat.
Do I need a rest? Yes. But it was really an incredible experience, and I thank
this country, and I thank everybody I worked with for helping to be a part of it.
KING: Vanessa, I know that your father had prostate cancer. Your mom, a very
private person, completed a course for cancer treatment. Have you spoken to
Elizabeth Edwards, and what do you hear?
V. KERRY: I talked to Kate quite a bit in the beginning of all of that, and you
know, I certainly try to continue to lend my support. It is never a fun position
to be in, and I just -- our prayers are with them, and we will be there fighting
alongside them through all this. And I -- if there is ever a woman who has a
great deal of strength and a great deal of fight and a great deal of just hope
and courage, it is Elizabeth Edwards, and I feel very confident that she is
going to come through this with flying colors, and she certainly has all of our
thoughts and prayers.
KING: Vanessa, is there any bitterness over some of the things that occurred?
There always is in campaigns. The swift boat issue and that kind of thing. Do
you bear any lingering anger?
V. KERRY: No. I mean, to be honest, I bear some frustration at the outcome, and
sort of, you know, maybe I would say that's it. But there's one lesson I learned
from my father through this. And I learned actually a lot -- well, no, not one,
I learned a lot of lessons from my father, and we talked about this and I said
to him -- I wanted to tell him sort of privately what I had learned just from
watching who he was through this process.
But one of the things I learned is that when you fight for something you believe
in and you tell the truth and you do your best, you can always hold your head up
high and no one can take that away from you. And I think that -- I feel that my
father, as my sister said, just fought with the greatest dignity. This whole
campaign did. And I -- you know, when you're a part of something you really
believe in and you're a part of something that's so much bigger than you -- and
it never was about my father, it was never about us. This was always about the
American people, and returning hope, and bringing them help, and created a
change that really fought for this country.
And I think that, for example, this president said when he won that he wants to
really unite this country and bring together all the 53 million that voted -- or
the 56 million that voted for my father, you know, along with the 59 who voted
for him, and I think I hope he does that, because that's what this was about,
about uniting this country and creating a better future.
And I'd like to see that happen, and I think that's a part of what we tried to
create. And so for me, when you are a part of something like that, it's hard not
to feel proud and to hold your head up high and to look forward and to know that
you're going to keep fighting in maybe a different way, but constantly going
forward to continue to achieve what you'd hoped for.
KING: Nice seeing you. Vanessa Kerry in London ...
V. KERRY: Thank you.
KING: We thank them both for this exclusive first interview since the election.
