In quotes picked up today by the New York Post's Cindy Adams, the tart-tongued almost-first lady proclaimed:

"The job of a political spouse is to say, 'Hey, idiot. ...' It enables the partner to remind the person of who they are - or were - and of the sudden discrepancies of that person's inner core."

Teresa then added, "You have to be able to say to them, 'You didn't used to think like that.'"

Well, at least she didn't call Kerry a "scumbag," a term Heinz used during the campaign to deride her critics.

Editor's note: