Meet The Kerry-Edwards Bunch

David Paul Kuhn, CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer, reports from the Democratic Convention in Boston

In a green dress, Cate described Elizabeth Edwards as "above all, a mother who is always there for us, always." Later, Cate said that her mother "has brought joy to our home and love to our hearts." To emphasize the point, the recent Princeton graduate touched her own heart.

And so it is, the children personalize the parent. And the wife personalizes the husband.

Tonight, the Kerry daughters -- Vanessa, 27, and Alexandra, 30 – will personalize Sen. John Kerry before he makes the biggest speech of his life.

"Family gives you a sense of who [John Kerry] is, especially when he is with his daughters," said Margaret Kerry, the Democratic nominee's sister. "They bring out his incredible sense of humor, his real joy for life."

In an interview at the FleetCenter, Margaret Kerry added, "I think we always want to show him as a family man. He cares very deeply about the values that are a central part of a family."

Meet the Kerry-Edwards (and Heinz) Bunch. The Democratic duo's eight children range in age from 4 to 37. It is the most modern of families, the product of a tragic death, an emotional divorce and a son who died too young.

Explaining this extended family is like jumping into a 19th century Russian novel. There are a lot of names, which often change, and a long story illustrating that tragedy befalls the powerful, as well.

John Kerry separated from his first wife, Julia Thorne, in 1982. By the Democratic nominee's own admission, it was hard time for him. Thorne now lives out west and out of the spotlight.

Nine years later, Teresa Heinz, wife of Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz, received the news that the love of her life died in a plane crash.

In 1995, Kerry and Teresa married. Having met a few years earlier, both have described their union as a marriage of adults, loving and respectful.

One year later, tragedy befell John and Elizabeth Edwards.

Their firstborn son, Wade, died in a car accident in 1996. He was 16. John Edwards has said Wade's death led the couple to have their two youngest children, 4-year-old Jack and Emma Claire, 6. Edwards says Wade's death is also what drove him to public service.

Last night, when Edwards concluded his convention speech, we saw his two youngest run on stage with Elizabeth. Edwards held the rascally Jack at bay and Elizabeth, always the doting mother, looked after little Emma Claire.

The day after Kerry announced Edwards would be his running mate, the full clan, reminiscent of a Kennedy family reunion, appeared together on the green grass in Pittsburgh. Kerry picked up Jack. Cate held Emma Claire. They all smiled.

"I think it is important for any person running for president, for the public to get to know them. And their family reflects on who they are," said actor-director-activist Rob Reiner, taking a break from mingling on the convention floor.

Teresa Heinz Kerry's three sons have also become ardent advocates for their stepfather. Chris Heinz, 31, is the aspiring politician of the trio and has been integral in the campaign. Named one of People Magazine's 50 hottest bachelors, he addressed the convention Tuesday night.

The comedic middle child, Andre Heinz, 34, is an environmental consultant in Sweden who came stateside to stump for Kerry. (Kerry loves his imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger.)

The oldest, 37-year-old John Heinz IV, keeps a low profile, running an alternative school in Pennsylvania and working as a blacksmith.

"They adored their father," Margaret Kerry said of the Heinz sons. "Teresa met John several years after their father had died and they were worried. He embraced them fully. He was somebody they could respect and look up to and they are very, very close to him, and that's why you see them full time in the campaign."

Kerry's daughters have been involved in their father's campaign since the January Iowa caucuses.

This year, the Drudge Report topped its Web site with actress and filmmaker Alexandra on the carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, walking in an alluring black dress. Web sites are still devoted to the pictures.

Her sister, Vanessa, is a Harvard Medical School student who travels to campuses rallying young voters to her father's side.

"The public wants to know who is going to run the show," Reiner said, "not just from a policy standpoint but what kind of a man he is."

But it is not always so rosy. Today, on the eve of their convention speeches, the Kerry daughters brandished the cover of the tabloid Boston Herald with the headline "Kerry Girls Gone Wild." In the photo, actor Ben Affleck is whispering in Alexandra's ear, as she blushes. Inside the paper, the article reports that the two daughters are "falling all over" Affleck.

But that goes with the territory. Ron Reagan was chased by the tabloids. Chelsea Clinton was called unattractive. The New York tabloids chronicle the Bush daughters' bar exploits.

For Kerry, though, who many view as aloof, putting his gracious daughters on stage can't hurt.

"I think we always want to show him as a family man," Margaret Kerry said. "He cares very deeply about the values that are a central part of a family.

The values war has been under way for months in this campaign. The privacy of the children is among its first casualties.

By David Paul Kuhn