Hopeful brides storm the gates after Kucinich's offhand opening
They say that any press is good press. I hope that's true because it would be nice if the media gave as much attention to Kucinich's platform as they do to this thoroughly silly story.
Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Hopeful brides storm the gates after Kucinich's offhand opening
11/25/03
Sabrina Eaton
Plain Dealer Bureau
WASHINGTON - Even if Dennis Kucinich falls short of his White House dream, his campaign already has snagged something beyond most guys' wildest fantasies: more than 80 fresh dating prospects.
Kucinich's strange journey from kitschy West Side polka festival staple to kitschy West Coast new age festival staple took an unlikely turn into sex symbol territory Nov.5. At a New Hampshire candidates' forum, he was queried about first ladies,and the Cleveland Democratic congressman didn't waste his chance to drop the proverbial handkerchief.
"As a bachelor, I get a chance to fantasize about my first lady," the twice-divorced Kucinich replied. "And you know, maybe Fox will want to sponsor it as a national contest or something. But in any event, I would want someone who would not just be there by my side, but be a working partner because I think we're in an age when partnerships are imperative to making anything happen in the world.
And I certainly want a dynamic, outspoken woman who was fearless in her desire for peace in the world and for universal single-payer health care and a full employment economy.
"If you are out there call me," he concluded with a flourish reminiscent of "American Gigolo."
Kucinich's plea for a soul mate uncorked an unexpected torrent of lust and longing from the nation's Reikei instructors and anti-war activists. The PoliticsNH.com Web site braved turf even Fox wouldn't touch and launched a contest to find Kucinich a first lady.
The Web site offered to fly a woman selected by its patrons to New Hampshire for dinner with Kucinich,who agreed to the date.
David Letterman and Jay Leno helped spur nationwide interest in both the contest and Kucinich's scrawny bod and launched Kucinich into a pop-culture realm where "The Bachelor" meets "The West Wing." The Web site was inundated with entries. There were 80 by the time managing editor James Pindell stopped accepting applications last Wednesday. Pindell said the manpower required to process Kucinich's love notes was starting to interfere with the Web site's mission of covering New Hampshire's political scene. He said the contest has boosted the site's traffic from an average of 10,000 daily visitors to 160,000.
"Maybe that says that Dennis is an attractive guy," Pindell said. "He's definitely a good sport for agreeing to do this."
The Web site is handling the contest in phases. Last week, its visitors selected their favorite among the aspiring brides who didn't send pictures. The top three photographed vote-getters who win the current round will face off against the unphotographed winner in a final round to wrap up next week, said Pindell, who hopes to arrange the date in December.
Kucinich said he really doesn't have time to date because of his busy campaign and congressional schedule but agreed to go along with the contest "out of respect for the feelings of the people who wrote in."
He claimed to be mystified by his groupie following as well as the international press inquiries it has garnered.
"This has taken on a life of its own," said Kucinich, whose favorite historic first lady is Eleanor Roosevelt because of her dynamism and activism.
After Kucinich issued his public casting call for a mate, women at political events began handing him "written proposals" expressing romantic interest. He insists women never approached him that way before his New Hampshire remarks.
The online candidates for Kucinich's affections are a diverse bunch. They range in age from 20 to 65 and in personality from Eleanor Roosevelt to Eleanor Rigby. There's a Unitarian minister from Connecticut who claims she's Howard Dean's cousin, a student anti-war protester who sent in a photo of herself covered in fake blood, and a bevy of crushed-out Kucinich campaign volunteers.
One such volunteer, 56-year-old Kathy from Des Moines, Iowa, wins the obsession prize.
Her entry says she has given more than 20 percent of her take- home pay to Kucinich's campaign since meeting him four months ago.
"I don't really care about being a first lady, I just want to be Mrs. Dennis Kucinich," wrote Kathy, who lists Reiki master, musician and firewalker among her occupations and interests. "That's true whether he's the next president or the next crossing guard at some elementary school somewhere. So I'm saying, right here in front of God and everybody, I adore this man."
A fair number of the candidates simply identified them selves as single parents, too busy with jobs and children to find time for dating, who would like to find an intelligent man who shares their political views.
June Milby, a 55-year-old single parent who runs a children's health insurance program in Raleigh, N.C., had never heard of Kucinich before she entered the contest but thought he sounded like a bright guy with a sense of humor and someone "who has already been vetted, so we know he's not dangerous weird."
Milby won the contest's first round by getting the most votes of the 37 women who didn't send their pictures.
"He is probably someone I'd find interesting, at least as a friend," Milby said in an interview. "We are living in a world now that if you are a single mom, you don't have time to breathe, much less find someone to partner with. The thing I am looking forward to, if by some miracle I win, is to have an evening out on the town with a nice grown-up where there's not some preordained agenda."
Karleen Powalie, 56, an insurance underwriter from Mentor- on-the-Lake, also craves a low- key date with an intelligent guy. She said she has never met Kucinich, even though she has lived around Cleveland her entire life. "I get lost a lot on the West Side," she said with a shrug.
Kucinich might be able to finish in the top three in New Hampshire's primary if he dates enough women in such a small state, suggested Brookings Institution political analyst Stephen Hess.
"I have a single, very attractive son who is a professor at the College of Wooster, about an hour south of Cleveland," Hess said. "Do you think he could have some of Dennis' leftovers?" [ed note: shortly after this, Hess's son came after him? Talk about parents embarrassing their children!]
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