Geraldine Ferraro: A Look Back

As a panelist with Mrs. Ferraro, I discovered a real groundbreaker.

Lesley Jane Seymour • Editor-in-Chief

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Geraldine Ferraro: A Look Back

Geraldine Ferraro kept very busy after her historic run for vice president on the 1984 Democratic ticket. Back in 2008, I had the honor of serving with her on a panel for /bacBacNew York Women in Communications, held at The New York Times building. The topic? Spin Room: Gender, Politics and the Media in the 2008 Election.

Once Barack Obama was voted into office that November, we chatted about how the election and his presidency would impact women. I remember Ferraro, a former U.S. Representative at the time, talking candidly about the media's fascination with Sarah Palin.

"What's going on with Sarah didn't go on for me," Ferraro reportedly told the crowd. "She's in a different place. She's come out with a lot of negatives." Despite their political differences, Ferraro stressed that Palin "has to speak up. She's a sitting governor."

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MaryanneRussell.com

Geraldine Ferraro: New York Women in Communications Panel 2008

When we got together to chat about politics, much of the discussion centered around Sarah Palin. When the conversation switched to Senator Hillary Clinton, the discussion took a different turn.

“The way Hillary gave her final speech of the primary was very significant because it showed women, who are so terrified of failure, that you can fail magnificently, that you can fail and still succeed in so many ways,” Arianna Huffington reportedly said. “When she said that there was no resentment or bitterness, despite whatever she may have been feeling, she came across as somebody who was ready to move on and be in the future.”

Afterwards, I got to thinking about Geraldine. Despite her loss, I never, ever saw her as a failure. Rather, she was a groundbreaker for the rest of us.

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Credit: MaryanneRussell.com

Geraldine Ferraro: A Good Listener

She was really as good a listener as she looks. Here's to you, Geraldine. May the political path you forged for American women include many, many travelers in your footsteps.

Click here for the full story on the event.

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MaryanneRussell.com

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Comments

Ms. Ferraro was a

Kaye Dickerson03.29.2011

Ms. Ferraro was a trailblazer. Thanks for the upfront article.

I was married with children

Jean Kelchner03.29.2011

I was married with children when Geraldine Ferraro was a VP candidate. She was a new breed, a New York Yankee with Italian immigrant parents--a WOMAN at a time when LADY was still the preferred choice. The attacks against her and her family during the campaign would not have been possible if she had not been a woman. "If she had been home where she belonged,". . . well, that was heard a lot back then. Whether any of those attacks were true or not, her career never recovered. I don't know if she was bitter at the way she was treated--she certainly had every reason to be for she was a victim simply because she was a woman. What I do know is that her contribution to our progress will never be forgotten. Here's to you, Ms. Ferraro!