Fortunately (and perhaps intentionally? Nah), Teresa Kerry's salty remarks will distract, slightly, from the boos [she and husband received at Fenrway]. Here's the back story on her latest display of colorful candor:

In a speech at the state House here, Kerry said, "We need to turn back some of the creeping un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are creeping into some of our politics." That's where the trouble began.

Colin McNickle, editorial page editor of the conservative Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, asked her afterward what she meant by "un-American activities." Kerry then accused him of putting words in her mouth, correctly denying that she ever said "activities." But she also denied saying "un-American," though recordings of her speech show she did say that.

Heinz Kerry walked away from McNickle, but returned seconds later to ask whom he worked for. After she found out he worked for the paper with which she frequently clashes, she told him "shove it."

A spokeswoman later told CNN that Heinz Kerry's reaction stemmed from "sheer frustration, aimed at a right-wing rag, that has consistently and purposely misrepresented the facts in reporting on Mrs. Kerry and her family."