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While Mondale was on the phone to the also-rans, Ferraro slipped out a side door of the St. Francis Hotel and was whisked into a waiting car; Kyros jumped in a block away from his stakeout post in front of a department store. At Oakland Airport, they boarded a Learjet owned by Tom Rosenberg, Mondale's Illinois Finance Chairman, who had been asked by Johnson that afternoon to have the plane flown to San Francisco. Ferraro, chatting with Rosenberg and Kyros on the flight to Anoka airport, a small field about ten miles from North Oaks, remarked that she felt oddly detached from all the turmoil. She arrived at Mondale's home at 1:45 a.m., talked with Mondale and his family in the living room for about 45 minutes and went to bed in the room of Mondale's daughter Eleanor. Both candidates were up by 8 to work on the speeches they would give four hours later at the televised announcement in St. Paul.
Mondale declared: "Our founders said in the Constitution, 'We the people'—not just the rich, or men, or white, but all of us. Our message is that America is for everyone who works hard and contributes to our blessed country. That's what my choice is about, and that's what Gerry's about." During pauses to let the cheers roll, Mondale could be heard over open mics making some avuncular, old-pro remarks to Ferraro, standing beside him in a bright red dress and simple string of pearls. "What did I tell you about Minnesota?" he asked the New Yorker during a standing ovation. A bit later: "You'll have to get used to this. At the convention, you'll have to smile for 15 minutes."
But Ferraro needed no coaching. "Thank you, Vice President Mondale, " she replied, then paused and observed, "Vice President—it has such a nice ring to it." The line drew appreciative laughter and more applause. When it died down, Ferraro proceeded, in the rapid, hard-edged accents of a native New Yorker, to appeal to several constituencies while introducing herself to her first national audience—all in five minutes.
For the ethnic urban voters who have been defecting to Reagan, there was a reminder that she will be the first Italian American, as well as the first woman, nominated by a major party for national office, all phrased in a context of patriotism ("My father came to America from a little town in Italy called Marcianise. Like millions of other immigrants, he loved our country passionately"). For social conservatives, a stress on traditional values ("I have a strong, loving family...our neighborhood and our faith are important parts of our lives"); for liberals, brief expressions of worry about what Reagan might do to Social Security and Medicare. For hawks and doves, a remark that her Queens constituents "support a strong, sensible defense" but "want nothing to do with reckless adventures in Latin America."