Tribune editorial board

OK, we've made up our minds. We'd like to throw our entire support behind Bush - Laura Bush.

The First Lady showed her true colors Thursday in responding, through a spokesperson, to comments from First Lady hopeful Teresa Heinz Kerry.

The national media machine kicked into high gear Wednesday after a newspaper published a comment from Heinz Kerry that seemed offensive to both Laura Bush and hundreds of thousands of women.

When asked how she'd be different in the First Lady role from Laura Bush, Heinz Kerry said, " … I don't know that she's ever had a real job - I mean, since she's been grown up."

The comment, whether it accurately reflected her opinion or was just a flippant answer, created a firestorm of response from thousands of stay-at-home mothers and teachers.

Bush was a teacher for approximately nine years prior to marrying George W. Bush. Then she opted to stay at home to help raise the couple's daughters. Both professions are highly admirable and highly difficult to do well.

If the comments were genuinely what Heinz Kerry thought, well, that would say something about her character.

If her comments were just a thoughtless blurt in the midst of an exhausting campaign in which your every movement and utterance is recorded and scrutinized, then the comment - and the apology that followed - are not that big of a deal.

Obviously, the Kerry political spin machine kicked into damage control mode.

Regardless of the political spin or the intent, the issue is a serious one because it shows how important it is that our nation recognizes the difficult work that women perform in our society. Whether the "work" is in the traditional, out-of-the-home sense, or in the stay-at-home sense, let there be no doubt, both avenues are hard work.

For Laura Bush's part, she handled the situation with true grace.

"Mrs. Bush knows it's not always easy when your husband runs for president. She knows that some days there's lots of interviews where lots of things are said …" a spokesman for the First Lady said.

Spoken like a good, hard-working mom.