Iowa’s First Couple was a little more relaxed this morning as they met with Iowans who’re in Boston for the Democratic National Convention. Governor Tom Vilsack says he was nervous all day yesterday about his wife’s speech last night on the convention floor. Vilsack says he was more nervous than when his sons were born, as his wife was not only speaking to thousands in the Fleet Center, but millions watching and listening around the country. Vilsack himself became emotional when talking with the few dozen Iowans who were on the convention floor last night. He had to step away from the microphone to compose himself in the middle of his statement. Governor Vilsack says having Iowa friends surrounding and supporting him and his wife at a time of stress was something he’ll never forget. Mrs. Vilsack was advised by a staff member to wear a different outfit last night for her speech, but she chose the bubble-gum pink suit with the white polka dots herself.Mrs. Vilsack has what she calls a “nice, conservative suit,” but she wanted to wear the pink one with the polka dots because she “felt like (she) needed an attitude” after the controversy surrounding her this week. On Monday, the Boston Herald unearthed a column Mrs. Vilsack wrote in favor of making English the official language, a column in which Mrs. Vilsack said she had trouble understanding southerners with a heavy accent and blacks talking with other blacks. In remarks to the Iowa delegation this morning, Mrs. Vilsack says she worried when she and her husband moved to her hometown of Mount Pleasant that he would forever be known as Christie Bell’s husband. But Mrs. Vilsack says her husband ran for Mayor and won, ran for the State Senate and won, ran for Governor twice and won, and she says it made her proud to hear John Kerry say in Sioux City last Saturday that her husband was capable of leading the country.
