"I had never dreamed of getting into politics until I did it, but I took to it like a duck to water. There was a zoning case in my neighborhood and I was trying to be a writer. It was the first time I realized that words could have an effect."
The 25-year-old from the poster is speaking now. "You have to learn where the buttons are that do something. Certain things have been very gratifying -- opening a clinic in a housing project, keeping schools open after hours --these things make a difference in peoples' lives. Keeping peoples' heads from being broken! (she is recalling Cambridge's more radical decade, during which she was mayor and city councilwoman).
"But of course it takes more than words to press those buttons." (she's looking tired again). Dukakis speaks well but people are often hurt more by a politician who doesn't act. In some ways, it's simply how much money and how many endorsements you can get. The voters here are sophisticated, though. TV ads may or may not help. We've been getting good responses from the press." On August 31, Ackermann will participate in a televised debate with Dukakis and Ed King.
Her simultaneous responsibility to the city and to her family posed no conflicts, she says. "It was a great part-time job. More and more women are realizing that they can do both. It is really difficult for an intellectual woman, a doer, to stay home. Some women do a kid more damage by staying home."
As the September 19 primary approaches, King supporters hope that Ackermann will deprive Dukakis of enough votes to put their candidate over the top. Barbara Ackermann persists doggedly in her scrupulously honest, low-budget campaign. And Michael Dukakis remains supremely oblivious of them both.
Barbara Ackermann, the Intellectual Woman, has been stimulated by her work: "It's interesting," she insists, "using personnel practices and affirmative action and turning money into action." The latter, she says, is very interesting. Barbara Ackermann, the
Barbara Ackermann, the Intellectual Woman, has been stimulated by her work: "It's interesting," she insists, "using personnel practices and affirmative action and turning money into action." The latter, she says, is very interesting. Barbara Ackermann, the Doer, seems excited by the possibilities.