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Geraldine Ferraro And Her 'Moment In History'

GERALDINE FERRARO: My fellow citizens, I proudly accept your nomination for vice president of the United States.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)

LIANE HANSEN, Host:

NPR's Cokie Roberts was there and she joins us with a few memories of Geraldine Ferraro, who died yesterday at 75. Good morning, Cokie.

COKIE ROBERTS: Hello, Liane.

HANSEN: You were at the Democratic convention in 1984 when Ferraro was named Walter Mondale's running mate. Remind us of the atmosphere at that convention.

ROBERTS: And I do confess that I went over to a colleague from ABC who was covering the campaign and squeezed her hand. We had been college dorm mates and even though we were covering it and dispassionate on air, it was a moment - it was a moment in women's history.

HANSEN: Now, why was Geraldine Ferraro chosen as the running mate. What did she bring to the ticket? Was she a standout in Congress?

ROBERTS: Even though the women's vote had been growing and growing and the Democrats had been paying attention to it, the day after the election in 1984, when the Mondale-Ferraro ticket lost 49 states, everybody went back to worrying about the white male vote.

HANSEN: What was Geraldine Ferraro's career like after that loss?

ROBERTS: But she continued on as a political commentator and, as I say, a great fighter for women in politics.

HANSEN: NPR's Cokie Roberts. Thank you very much.

ROBERTS: Thank you, Liane. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.
Cokie Roberts was one of the 'Founding Mothers' of NPR who helped make that network one of the premier sources of news and information in this country. She served as a congressional correspondent at NPR for more than 10 years and later appeared as a commentator on Morning Edition. In addition to her work for NPR, Roberts was a political commentator for ABC News, providing analysis for all network news programming.