10 Questions for Maria Shriver

By Rick Stengel

From career journalist to First Lady of California, this best-selling author and member of the Kennedy clan has written a new book, Just Who Will You Be? Maria Shriver will now take your questions

Do you ever find yourself at odds with being from a prominent Democratic family and being married to a Republican? --Valencia Jackson, HOUSTON It's definitely different to be married to someone from a different political party. It has really taught me to look beyond labels, which is something my dad [Sargent Shriver] was really adamant about. Get rid of all that and look at who the person is, and you're much better off.

If you didn't get into broadcast journalism, what do you think you'd be doing today? --Philip Maddatu, TORONTO I have no clue. Maybe writing poetry. I was so relieved when I discovered journalism. When my dad was running for Vice President, [I would] sit in the back of the plane with the journalists, and it opened my eyes. I thought at the time that politics and how people view politicians will be made by the people in the back of the plane a lot more than the people in the front.

As your children get older, would you consider getting into politics? --Joseph Nolan WATERBURY, CONN. No, I really wouldn't. That's a question that has really been on my back since I was little. Everybody says it to you all the time: You should run, you should run. But I always ask myself, Are they saying that because of who you are or who they want you to be?

Now that you've written a book about becoming who you are, how do you help your children become who they are? --Mary Weinstein, MARIETTA, GA. I try to say to my children, I love you for who you are. You don't have to get into some fancy college. You don't have to go off and become President of the United States. If you want to go off and open a coffee shop or a bakery, I love you. And you, and you alone, are good enough.

You credit a lot of your success to your relationship with your parents. Do you use the same techniques with your children? --Warren Sharp OKINAWA, JAPAN I try. I said to my mother, I pray to God that I'm half as successful with my children as my parents have been. For any parent, to sit back and see your kids really enjoying each other, understanding each other, accepting who they are, is a huge joy.

How would you react if John McCain asked Arnold Schwarzenegger to be his running mate? --Abdi Hussein, EVERETT, WASH. First of all, it's not going to happen because of the Constitution. I checked it out. [But] that would be a challenge. We have Barack Obama and McCain signs, driving up to our house, one on one side and one on the other.

What is Michelle Obama like, and do you think she would make a good First Lady? --Zach Mohler, BALTIMORE She came and spoke at the Women's Conference, where we had all the candidates' spouses come together. I found her to be very gracious, smart, funny, irreverent.

What do you think is the greatest misconception about you? --Dian Ducey, FORT LEE, N.J. I try not to spend a lot of time thinking about what other people think. I spent a lot of time doing that, and it got me nowhere.

What do you want to be doing in 10 years? --Catherine Pilie, COVINGTON, LA. At 16 I said, I want to be a journalist. I want to work on a newsmagazine. I want to do a documentary. I had it all planned out. Now I'm gentler with myself. I say, I'm a work in progress. I could be writing books in 10 years. I could be living on an island. I could be traveling around the world.

What is your favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? --Ignacio Meza, LOS ANGELES True Lies. Or Twins. That is who Arnold is: funny. That's what caught my attention, believe it or not, about him--that he was irreverent, funny, free-spirited. I hadn't met anybody like that.