First Lady Wouldn't Be Her Full-Time Job [View All]

First Lady Wouldn't Be Her Full-Time Job
By Johanna Neuman, Times Staff Writer


(2003-08-06) WASHINGTON--Dr. Judith Steinberg, an internist in Shelburne, Vt., cherishes her privacy. Fond of taking solo rides along nearby Burlington's lake-hugging bicycle path, the wife of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is --by her own account -- a private person who has not made a public speech in nearly 20 years and has never given a radio or television interview.

And Steinberg says she has no intention of changing that behavior just because her husband is running for president.

Except for an occasional interview, Steinberg said she had no plans to give speeches or stump on the campaign trail. If Dean is elected president, she hopes to move her medical practice to Washington.

Asked whether she would use the bully pulpit of the White House to advocate policy, perhaps on medical issues, Steinberg demurred.

"I really enjoy people one on one. I enjoy listening to them," she said. "I'm not that comfortable speaking to groups. I have my opinions, but they are from a narrow point of view, a doctor's or even a patient's."

more..................

http://publicbroadcasting.net/wnyc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=530653