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Equally intriguing to the press was Ferraro's apparent misinterpretation of the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, which requires members of Congress to disclose their spouses' income and assets if they stand to benefit from them, as well as their personal assets. Ferraro, who is a lawyer, had never disclosed Zaccaro's; she says she believed their separate careers entitled her to an exemption. Finally, Ferraro would have to answer for her husband's sometimes haphazard and occasionally controversial business dealings.
After a technical question-and-answer session between reporters and a team of Ferraro's lawyers and accountants, the candidate arrived, got a last-minute briefing from her aides on the thrust of the queries, and sat down before the microphones, only to find that the sound system was not working. Ferraro retreated to a back room and paced, talking to no one as she waited for the most critical single political moment an American woman has ever faced. Not only was her vice-presidential candidacy in jeopardy, but so, in a fashion, was much that she portended for women and their political hopes. The Republicans had tossed out the question again and again since her nomination: How could a three-term Congresswoman from Queens be expected to stand up to the rigors of national office? Now the whole country wondered: Could Geraldine Ferraro take the heat?
Ferraro returned to the room in ten minutes, the sound system repaired. When she spoke, no nervousness showed. "I released more than anybody has released in the history of this country," she boasted of her financial disclosures. Ferraro quickly and effectively established that she was fluent with the facts and that she would not be pushed around. "Let's stop there first of all and correct that," she said to the opening questioner who stated that money from her husband's business financed her 1978 campaign. "My money paid for my campaign ..." When she was asked a complex and tendentious question by a reporter from the right-wing daily Washington Times, she maintained her humor. "I knew I shouldn't have called on you," Ferraro said—and then answered.
Not once did she obviously dissemble, or weasel away from a question. But she did make some wise tactical retreats, giving ground as necessary. For instance, a questioner asked about her nominal positions in various Zaccaro business entities: sometimes she is listed as treasurer, sometimes secretary, sometimes vice president. "It's sloppy, I'll grant you that," Ferraro said. She even managed to be self-deprecating and defiant at the same time. "I probably brought it all on myself," she said, "by promising more [disclosure of Zaccaro's finances] than I was able to deliver ... But I ended up delivering it anyway, didn't I?"
Her flip humor continued to flash. Has all the attention on her finances hurt the Mondale campaign? "Well, let me put it this way," Ferraro said, "it has not been a positive thing." Her new accountants "hold themselves out to be experts. I sure hope they are. Just kidding, guys."