The polls indicated that I was feisty, that I was tough, that I had a sense of humor, but they weren't quite sure if they liked me and they didn't know whether or not that I was sensitive.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I didn't look very sensitive and they didn't know me very well.
For a long time, I thought I was ugly and disfigured. This made me shy and timid, and I often reacted to insults that were not intended.
I was so afraid of upsetting people, and not being liked for saying something that was not to everyone's taste.
I was a pretty feisty young kid.
I'm constantly meeting people who said that they cast their first vote for me, or that they cut their eye teeth on the 1972 campaign, or that they didn't vote for me but admire my positions.
John Kerry didn't out me, nor did he offend or attack me by calling me a lesbian. I certainly couldn't be offended by the truth.
For years, I didn't give interviews because I was scared of people judging me or thinking I was arrogant.
As far as humor goes, I've always been a very insecure person and I've always wanted to be liked.
People have been able to see that as cheeky and as flirty as I am, I am not the dreadful slapper that the press used to portray me as. But it will probably all turn around and people will hate me again in a couple of years.
I was mild-mannered, wore glasses, was very shy with women.