NBC

Meredith Vieira: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry ran for president with John Edwards as his running mate in 2004. Now he and his wife Teresa have written a new book, This Moment On Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Visions for the Future. Senator Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, good morning to both of you.

Teresa Heinz Kerry: Good morning.

John Kerry: Thank you, good morning.

Vieira: I'd like to discuss the book but first I'd like to talk about John and Elizabeth Edwards and their decision. Mr. Edwards was your running mate in 2004. You know this couple, both of you, not just politically, but you know them very well personally. Were you surprised by their decision?

JK: No, I think, look, it's a very personal decision, and it's one that a lot of people outside really shouldn't and can't comment on because we're not them, number one, number two, we're not privy to every bit doctors have said to them. So they have to make their decision, and people have to abide by it.

Vieira: You're right that it is a personal decision but in a political arena, sometimes there are political ramifications. Already some people are saying their candor actually helps their candidacy, and others are suggesting that perhaps voters might look at Mr. Edwards and be worried that he might be too distracted to be an effective president. Teresa, you know, to some extent, what it means to be called a distraction, because back in 2004, you're a very outspoken lady, and sometimes your words were used against your husband. So what do you think the Edwardses are up against, in terms of the political arena?

THK: I think it is a very personal, very difficult decision. I think Elizabeth is facing terrible odds. She's a brave person, and I think if you had ten women in a room in the same roll, you know, you'd have, you know, three going this way and four going that way. You know, I've lost people in my life suddenly. All I can say is, um, not just my late husband, not having had time to say goodbye was very hard. And so I would make certain choices. Everybody makes their choice.

Vieira: And the Edwards have obviously made theirs.

THK: Yeah.

Vieira: I know back when you were running for president, Senator, you had an operation for prostate cancer, and you were reluctant to talk about it. A reporter asked you at the time if you were sick, and you did not say that you were. Do you feel that there is more pressure on the candidates now to be open?

JK: Well, you have to have full disclosure. The reason I answered the reporter was because I hadn't had a chance to talk to my kids, and I know that the Edwards' appropriately fought hard to get the time to talk to their kids. And that's the right thing to do, and their family. But in the end, you know, I was with Elizabeth down in Texas at the Lance Armstrong Foundation a few months ago, and she had the great energy, and the great sort of inspiration in her that she conveyed to everybody. For anybody whose had, I mean, I get tested every six months. And I have friends, a very close friend, I was just with him this weekend, whose prostate cancer has come back, and he's now facing a tough battle, as too many people are in this country. It's part of what we actually write about in this book, that there's so much cancer, a lot of it, incidentally, environmentally induced in various things, mercury, food, you know, all kinds of chemicals. Children today are born, Teresa actually wrote a brilliant chapter on toxins. Children are born today and traced with some two hundred, one hundred and fifty chemicals in their blood stream at that moment of birth.

Vieira: Why was it important for you two to write this book at this time together?

JK: Well we wrote the book because we're both deeply concerned about what's going on but unbelievably optimistic about the possibilities. This is a book, it's not a doom book, it's an optimistic book. It's a book that has solutions in it. And it shows people how every-day Americans are defining environmentalism today. This isn't, environmentalism isn't elitist, this is red-state fisherman and hunters, it's farmers, it's ranchers, it's republicans, conservatives, fighting to protect their surroundings. And these are the stories of individual Americans who are just making an unbelievable difference.

Vieira: And yet in a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, only seven percent, seven percent of Americans call the environment the government's top priority. So how do you get people interested in this issue?

JK: That's exactly what the book does. It connects the dots for people. I mean, Teresa talks about women with breast cancer and why they got it, how they got it, what they did to fight back against it, and we write about some ranchers. There's a wonderful part, a guy down in North Carolina, a marine, sixty seven years old, he's now a river keeper, fighting to protect the Neuse River down in North Carolina from the hog pollution that flows into it. Fisherman passionate about fishing. In South Carolina, they wouldn't have duck hunting today if they didn't have farm ducks because of what's going on. We have to fight back, and these are the stories of people redefining the environment.

Vieira: I'd like to switch gears for a moment and talk about the war in Iraq.

JK: Oh I don't want to talk about that, oh okay.

Vieira: Just for a second. The house voted last week to bring back most of the troops by September 2008. The Senate is going to consider a similar bill, albeit less restrictive, this week. But the president has already said he will veto any measure like this. He calls this political theatre. And the democrats have acknowledged that you don't have the vetoes to override, you don't have the votes, to override his veto. So what is it then? What do you hope to accomplish? It sounds like it is political theatre.

JK: No, it's not theatre at all. It's very real, very serious. I was at the wake of the young kid from Wilmington , John Landrey, just yesterday. And, uh, these kids are giving their all, dying, being maimed, fighting for their country. If you believe the war was a mistake, and you believe there is a better course, it is important for us to show leadership. That's what we're doing.

Vieira: But if you can't override ultimately the veto, then what's the point?

JK: Well, we, you fight, because you keep fighting. Last year I brought that resolution to the floor of the Senate in August. I got thirteen votes. This last time, we got 48 votes. We will keep fighting and keep pushing, and that's what is important.

Vieira: You said before, I was interrupting, you said you wanted Teresa…

JK: Well I wanted to tell you because Teresa and I, I thought she should really say something about the cancer and the story of what she wrote about and it's so important for people to hear it.

Vieira: Teresa, you've got the stage.

THK: No, gosh, no.

Viera: This is about really cancer, are you talking about the Cape Cod women and the connection between the environment and cancer?

THK: Well that and then Deborah Davidson and what she's doing in Pittsburg with the Environmental Oncology Center, which is an amazing center. But the question you asked a little earlier was, you know, why did we do it? And several reasons. One is that it was part of conversation during the campaign with the people. Talked about environment every speech. Really interesting conversations. Secondly, the work that I do on precautionary care and prevention, with it's health, with it's research, etcetera, that's what I, that's what I'm interested in. And connecting the dots. So doing that for people in a way that's accessible, and not completely paralyzing is very important.

Vieira: And hopefully that's what this book is about.

THK: Not paralyzing.

JK: We hope. It's an easy read and it's fun.

Vieira: Absolutely, it's a very easy read, and an important book. Senator Kerry, thank you. Thank you very much. Nice to be with you as well.

JK: Thank you.