Geraldine Ferraro changed the way Americans thought of each other

Editor's note: Among the speakers at today's service for Geraldine Ferraro will be Walter Mondale, who invited her to share the ticket when he ran for president in 1984. The following article is adapted from the text of his remarks.

By Walter F. Mondale

The evening after the announcement of Geraldine Ferraro's selection as my running mate, we met with her to review our plans for the rest of the campaign.

It was all there for her: her schedule, her speeches, downtime, key staff, all of it printed on a large poster board.

As you may have heard, the meeting did not go as planned: It began to unravel when Gerry asked why we printed everything in ink. For the next few hours we received a comprehensive briefing on how our new age of social justice was to be implemented. She said that it might help us if we treated her as though she were a white-haired male senator from Texas.

Actually, it helped a lot. The next morning we reset our entire campaign around the idea of mutual respect. While we didn't know it then, I think we were really resetting the way Americans thought about each other.

Amy Klobuchar recently said that when she saw Gerry Ferraro being nominated, she changed her idea about what might be possible for her in her life. Amy wasn't alone. On that day there were only two women in the Senate. Today there are 17. We now have 74 women in the U.S. House, six governors, 1,700 state legislators, we've had three secretaries of state -- two of them speaking today -- and three justices now serving on the Supreme Court. It wasn't just politics that was reset; change can be seen everywhere in American life.

We were stunned by the amazing public reaction to her choice. Gerry drew enormous crowds, always packed with thousands of mothers and, yes, fathers, who had brought their young daughters to see the miracle of this intelligent, handsome, brave, gutsy fighter and leader.

In an amazing way, these last few days have turned into a huge national celebration of Gerry's life. There is so much to celebrate. But I think we would be missing a crucial part of Gerry's victorious life if we didn't mention the struggle and adversity so central to her story. We know she came up the hard way, and this campaign was really tough. Shortly after the convention, Gerry and I campaigned together through Mississippi, where I remember an old farmer asking her: "Young lady, do you know how to make blueberry muffins?"

"Yes," she said. "Do you?"

George H.W. Bush, during their debate, offered to explain foreign policy to her. Every day she was patronized in a way not experienced by her male counterparts. But she would not relent. She came back each day tougher and better, just as she fought her unforgiving cancer, living years beyond all predictions. If they ever make another movie called "True Grit," it should be about Gerry and her incredible pluck and courage.

Another crucial part of Gerry's story I wish were more fully understood is that she was not only a very attractive candidate, nor was this just identity politics. She was qualified for the office she sought.

She was really smart, knew the issues, attracted great staff, was tireless, traveled and learned. She was already a leader in the U.S. House. Tip O'Neill raved about her. She beat Bush in that debate. You could see it in her campaign; she was stronger every day. Someone once said that politicians either grow or they swell. Well, Gerry grew every day.

On that great day, Gerry walked to the platform in San Francisco and said: "My name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."

The great, joyous story of her life is that she did for America exactly what she promised she would do.

Gerry, that's why we love you so much.

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Walter F. Mondale, former vice president, U.S. senator and ambassador to Japan, is a partner in the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney.

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