SCHIEFFER: Joining us now from Long Island, New York, Vanessa and Alexandra
Kerry.
And we want to welcome both of you to the broadcast this morning.
You both were big hits at the Democratic Convention. But, you know, you`ve
been out on the campaign trail now for a couple of weeks, and, I must say, I
think all of us wonder, what is it like to be out there when you hear these
attacks on your dad? How do you handle that?
ALEXANDRA KERRY, JOHN KERRY`S DAUGHTER: Well, I think that -- I was just
thinking about that, actually, this morning. And whether you`re out there on
the trail or you`re at home with your friends, there`s no way that you can get
away from what`s going on right now.
So I think whether we`re out there being vocal about what we believe in and
how we supported our father or we were at home, we`d be experiencing it the
same way.
EASTON: Vanessa...
VANESSA KERRY, JOHN KERRY`S DAUGHTER: I mean, I think...
EASTON: Go ahead.
V. KERRY: No, I was just -- I was going to say, in terms of hearing these
things about our father, it`s incredibly frustrating, just in terms of seeing
somebody`s sort of moral character being attacked.
And I think that what upsets me is, I just have the question of which wound do
you want to see, which scar do you need to see to prove that my father served?
And it`s very frustrating, when you grow up, seeing somebody who has
continually been courageous, fighting for something he believes in, sort of
get attacked unfairly and with lies.
EASTON: Vanessa, your father has been out on the campaign trail quite a while
and, certainly, in public life for a very long time. And yet people still
think of him as somewhat of an enigma. He`s hard to figure out.
Could you give us some insight, maybe an example of a critical decision that
he had to make at some point, and how did he reach that decision?
V. KERRY: Well, I mean, I think that it`s interesting that people say my
father is an enigma. And I think it`s hard. People want -- if someone is
running for the highest office in the land, people want to know all aspects of
his character.
And I think people are coming to see the family man, the laughing, goofing
dad, the very warm character. Because people have always seen the public
servant before, somebody who takes the issues very seriously and fights
seriously for what he believes in.
You know, and I think what people are starting to see now in Dad is, I think,
his real insight, his real commitment to truth, his real commitment to
integrity, also in decision-making, but also his fight.
You know, he took, I think great chances in this primary season, when people
wrote him off. He decided that he was going to put a lot on the line in order
to continue fighting for what he believed in, and also with the real sense
that he could win and knew he could win.
And I think that that willingness to take that chance shows his gut, his
integrity, and it was certainly a tough time. But here we are. And I think
that shows sort of part of his decisions.
EASTON: Alexandra, tough decisions he`s had to make?
A. KERRY: Tough decisions he`s had to make. Obviously, we always talk about
those in a personal context. I`m sure that`s less interesting to you. But
whether it was, I guess, to jump in and save the hamster (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
But I think tough decisions he`s had to make, I think, you know, people should
-- people deserve to hear about how he sees this country.
But because the Swift Boats are an issue right now, I would say you can talk
to all of the people who served with him. And he made tough, grounded, very
strong decisions during the Vietnam War. And I think that a great deal, his
leadership, is based on that integrity.
And he makes the same decisive decisions now, whether it`s making decisions
about protecting our environment or whether it`s about making decisions about
how to better the educational policies in this country. I think it`s a
question of -- were you going to say something?
V. KERRY: No, no, my earpiece...
A. KERRY: The earpiece fell out.
I think that we watch him every day make very sound decisions.
You know, I`ve been shooting some documentary footage, and I was watching him.
I was watching some of the tapes. And I watched as he listened with the people
who he trusts the most around him. But I watched how quickly he understood the
situation and made a very quick decision about how we were going to proceed.
And those are the things that Vanessa and I get to experience every day by
being part of the campaign. So it`s an honor to be able to share those aspects
of him with people.
SCHIEFFER: Vanessa, do you think that he takes these attacks personally? Or
has he been in politics so long that they don`t bother him?
Or can you be in politics long enough that you don`t take some things
personally?
V. KERRY: Well, I think it`s hard when you`re attacking the moral character of
a man with blatant lies, I think it`s hard not to try to keep it out and, you
know, to realize its politics and to try to keep it from being personal.
But the thing is that Dad is incredibly focused on making this part of a wedge
issue or not making this -- I mean, yes, he`s going to fight back.
And he`s going to fight back against lies, and he`s going to fight back
against character assassination.
But at the same time, he`s also going to stay focused in talking about what we
need to be talking about in this country -- things like health care for all
Americans, health care for the new generation of veterans that we are creating,
talking about, you know, investing in early education, talking about creating
more jobs, helping to fix the middle-class squeeze.
We have a lot of issues on the table, and that`s what this election is about.
It is about our future. It is about what is going to happen in the next four
years and beyond. It`s not about 30 years ago.
I think that, as he focuses on that and continues to fight forward, the
American people are going to be able to make a decision about what kind of
leadership they want, going ahead from this year on. And then that`s what we
need to stay focused on.
So, yes, you fight back on a level because you have to tell the truth, but...
SCHIEFFER: Let me -- Alex, let me ask you, let me just ask this question. I
have watched a lot of candidate`s families, a lot of presidential children
over the years. And sometimes I think it`s harder on the family than it is on
the candidate.
Do you feel pressure when you go out to talk that perhaps you might say the
wrong thing or you might do something that would hurt your father`s campaign?
A. KERRY: Out of respect to him, I think we`re always considering how
something could reflect on him. But I wouldn`t say -- I think my father always
gave us a great amount of confidence.
And so I think -- I`m sure we`ll make mistakes, and we have. But I think that
you don`t live in fear. You live more about wanting to go out and communicate
things.
And we are young adults also. So while we`re his family members, we`re also
voters. We`re also people who care about the things that are going on in the
country.
And when I think about some of the swift boat issues, I think about my friends
who are fighting right now in the war. And I think about them coming back. And
if 20 years down the line, if they weren`t being honored, how would we feel,
how would they feel. It would be very difficult to watch.
So it`s not just about the family. It`s about the people who we`re trying to
communicate to. And that`s what we try to focus on, and then it removes it
from yourself a little bit.
V. KERRY: Plus, there are 48 million young Americans between the ages of 18
and 30 who can be involved in this election and vote. And if we can go out and
be a part of communicating to that constituency and get people involved, and
really understanding the power of our voice, that`s a great thing to do.
And so, yes, you do your best every day, and you hope you don`t mess up. But
when you`re fighting for something you believe in, you tend to be able to
speak the truth and stay on (ph) line.
SCHIEFFER: All right. We have to end it there. I`m very, very sorry.
