Akers on Kennedy: 'He's just a really shy person'

Rep. Kennedy with the man he has called his AA sponsor, former Rep. Ramstad We continue to seek answers from WaPo PR on the employment status of Mary Ann Akers at the paper and questions raised by her partnership with Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) in writing his sobriety memoir Coming Clean. While we patiently wait, a Lexis Nexus search for "Mary Ann Akers" and "Patrick Kennedy" reveals that she has written about him approximately 25 times in her career. Talk of an addiction book before (Roll Call's HOH 2006) Kennedy, Budding Author. Meanwhile, we hear that Kennedy and his AA sponsor, Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, are talking about writing a book together. Discussions are "very preliminary," sources say, but they envision the book would compile stories by "regular" people, as opposed to politicians, about their battles with various forms of mental illness, ranging from depression and schizophrenia to alcoholism and drug dependency. Akers's personal take on Kennedy (August 2006 on "Scarborough Country") AKERS: Well, he`s a really nice guy. I`ve known him for years. And he`s typically just a really shy person behind the scenes. He`s not what you think of when you think of, you know, the dashing, very self-assured Kennedy. He`s not like John-John. He does stay behind the scenes. In January of 2007... when Akers left Roll Call for WaPo, Kennedy was one of two members of Congress who were on a farewell e-mail she sent to friends and sources. The other lawmaker was Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). Akers liked to turn in Kennedy sightings (Aug. 2008, WaPo Reliable Sources) Where was everyone? Some L.A.-to-D.C. frequent fliers like Tim Daly, Richard Schiff and Rosario Dawson mingled with the likes of Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Clyburn at a GQ/Maker's Mark party, our colleague Mary Ann Akers reports.

Fishbowl

Akers on Kennedy: 'He's just a really shy person'

Betsy Rothstein

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Betsy Rothstein