  Boston Herald Noelle Straub Teresa Heinz Kerry says her Tuesday speech at the Democratic National Convention will run less than 20 minutes and largely stick to the familiar themes she hits on the stump for her husband.
Heinz Kerry told reporters aboard the campaign plane that she practiced the speech using TelePrompTers last weekend while in Nantucket. She did not deliver it in front of her husband, presumptive nominee Sen. John F. Kerry, but he read the text.
She added the Bay State senator has read his work-in-progress to her as he prepares for one of the biggest speeches of his career. The potential first lady said her speech runs 13 to 14 minutes, without accounting for applause. She noted former President Clinton will have 45 minutes for his address. Carrying a coffee cup and sporting sunglasses, Heinz Kerry said she will wear a white or cream-colored skirt instead of one of her usual pantsuits and that Elizabeth Edwards will sport ``soft colors.
'' She spoke while awaiting lift-off from Denver an hour and a half behind schedule for a campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa. When campaigning for her husband, Heinz Kerry almost always speaks about her background growing up in Mozambique, a dictatorship, and not seeing her father vote until he was 71 years old, giving her an appreciation for democracy. She also typically notes she marched against apartheid in South Africa. She emphasizes educational and environmental issues, talks about improving children's lives and often focuses on the lack of affordable health care.
But in keeping with the campaign's new emphasis on optimism, Heinz Kerry may jettison some of the attacks on President Bush she often includes in speeches. Yesterday at a rally here on the banks of the Missouri River, Heinz Kerry took several such shots, saying that unlike the president, her husband enjoys history and ``actually reads.
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