Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

John Kerry is practicing damage control after his reference to Dick and Lynne Cheney's daughter, Mary in the national debate. Fox News has a summary of all the comments made. Edwards started it in the Vice Presidential debate with this comment:

"I think the vice president and his wife love their daughter. I think they love her very much. And you can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing,"

Cheney, in response, just thanked him for kind remarks.

Then John Kerry made this comment during Wednesday debate:

"We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not a choice."

This was responded to by Lynne Cheney at a rally after the debate.

"Now, you know, I did have a chance to assess John Kerry once more and now the only thing I could conclude: This is not a good man," she told a crowd of 800 debate-watchers in a Pittsburgh suburb. "Of course, I am speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom. This is not a good man. What a cheap and tawdry political trick."

Why so much air time on the daughter of the Vice President's daughter's sexuality? Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, explained when asked about it right after the debate.

"She seems to be very proud and open about her sexuality, her parents seem to be very proud of her," Cahill said. "It comes up, there are a lot of questions here about gay marriage, and she is someone who is a major figure in the campaign. I think it's fair game and I think she has been treated very respectfully."

Apparently the Kerry-Edwards campaign feels that the child of the Vice President is fair game in stump speeches and nationally televised debates. Elizabeth Edwards made this comment Thursday morning on ABC Radio News:

"She's overreacted to this and treated it as if it's shameful to have this discussion. I think that's a very sad state of affairs. ... I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences. ... It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response,"

It's abundantly clear that the purpose of bringing up Mary Cheney's sexuality was to try and embarrass the Cheneys at their daughter's expense. There used to be something of an unwritten rule that the children of your opponent are off-limits in campaigns, but I guess nothing is too low for Kerry right now. He's pulling out every stop, ethical or not, to try and sway votes. Luckily this one seems to have back-fired.

Kerry said yesterday:

I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue,

Sorry, Senator. I wish you had taken your dying mother's advice: "Integrity, integrity, integrity." Too little. Too late.