I first read the very sad news of Gerry Ferraro’s passing in a comment thread here. DiscourseinCsharpminor had posted it. I will never forget driving to work the day after her VP nomination, how tall I sat behind the wheel of my car, the smile I simply could not suppress, the pride. It is difficult to accommodate the idea of Gerry and obituary in my mind. She was so alive, bigger than life. So honest. I remember when she withdrew from Hillary’s campaign due to remarks she had made. She told Hillary, “I’m not helping you. I’m hurting you.” She was a great lady.
This is a beautiful testament to her life and work. When I read it, I thought about that Fordham Law admissions officer’s remark. Yes, she was serious… very serious. She took the place of a man, and she sure made a success of it. Thank you Gerry for your dedicated service, for being an icon for women and girls, for being that smart, beautiful presence out there representing all of us. You made us proud, and we will always miss you.
Geraldine Ferraro Dead at 75
Geraldine A. Ferraro, who earned a place in history in 1984 as the first woman to run on a major party national ticket for vice president, has died. She was 75-years-old.
Still4Hill 
Walter Mondale may have lost to Reagan in 1984 but he demonstrated his support for women leaders by choosing Gerry Ferraro as his vice president.
I was one of those 23 women leaders who met with Mondale in Minneapolis-St. Paul July 4, 1984 and tried to convince him to choose a woman for his nominee. Upon our departure that day, none of us knew if we had succeeded in our quest but we all noted the interest we stirred in the campaign staff.
On July 12 Mondale announced Geraldine Ferraro as his pick.
Mondale’s legacy is that he opened the door for more women leaders in America, one of the world’s only industrialized countries where a woman president has never been elected.
Hillary will be the first.
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Wow, Julia! Thank you for being part of that committee that got Gerry on the ticket. And thanks for sharing this bit of behind the scenes history. Mondale did a great thing.
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I was shocked when I read the news. I didnt even know she was sick. rip she has done wonderful things for the advancement of women. It has not been good few months for hillaryland.
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She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 12 years ago, and right at the beginning she looked very bad, but what ever treatment they used must have put it in remission. Personally, I was amazed when first she began campaigning for Hillary and then started consulting for FOX News and looked so strong and vigorous again. I almost forgot she was sick, but I remember when she was diagnosed that they said it was incurable. She fought it for a long time, with grace. She was fierce. I loved her.
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I loved Gerry on the campaign for Hillary, she was so smart and loyal to her. I’m sorry for her family and for our hillary.RIP Geraldine, thank you for your loyalty to Hillary and breaking barriers for woman, too.God bless you!
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Hillary has another Guardian Angel watching over her now. What a woman she was! My heart is broken. 😦
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I loved when she made that statement about BO and then held strong on it. Time has certainly proved her wisdom on that score and her fierce advocacy for Hillary and women in general.
There is a great moment in Lily Tomlin’s “In Search of Intelligent Life in the Universe” where she goes through the character’s history of the women’s movement in the 70’s and 80’s and that moment when she relives the glory of Ferraro’s history-making statement at that Democratic convention: “My name is Geraldine Ferraro and I proudly accept your nomination for vice president of the United States!”
Thank you, Gerry.
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Yes, Gerry was right. She was right when she said it’s OK to be sexist, but it’s not OK to be racist. It’s still true. And Obama was not ready. (A GOP strategist just now on ABC news said his statements on Libya are “incoherent.” Whoa!)
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I just learned that Greta will have a tribute to Geradine Ferraro this Sunday at 10:00PM EST. It will I am sure show some great moments of her campaign for VP.
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Thanks for the heads-up!
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