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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Friday, October 15, 2004 :::
I don't think John Kerry should have brought up Mary Cheney in the debate last night, let alone attempt to read her mind. I'm less outraged than some people seem to be — his mention wasn't especially exploitative, or no more so than bringing up the family of an opposing ticket is by its nature. But it was entirely unnecessary, and even unnatural, which compounds the sin, since it's hard to interpret it as an accident. I can't believe that "homosexuality -> the Vice President's daughter" is genuine free-association by Senator Kerry (even supposing that my junior Senator is capable of free association).
Lynne Cheney was not amused:The only thing I could conclude is that this is not a good man. This is not a good man. And, of course, I'm speaking as a mom. And a pretty indignant one. This is not a good man. What a cheap and tawdry political trick. The level of Mrs. Cheney's outrage was reasonable, given the nature of the exploitation (mild, except deliberate) and the fact that it was her child. A child in her mid-thirties, sure, but still, to a mother, her child.
As I say while my mind does keep lingering on the question, "What was Kerry thinking?" none of this gets me terribly worked up. But some of the counter-responses piss me off. Mrs. Edwards:It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response. I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences that I'm certain makes her daughter uncomfortable. That makes me very sad on a personal level. What causes the pretentious Mrs. Edwards to infer — "make up" is probably a better verb — "shame" in Cheney's statement? I tend to suppose projection — that she'd feel shame if she had a lesbian daughter — but that's probably just my anger; on the other hand, I can't think of a better explanation.
But Kerry spokeswoman Debra DeShong's "if Lynne Cheney has a problem, it's something that she needs to work with her family," just astounds me. Maybe Mrs. Edwards can't recognize shame for the same reason a penguin can't recognize a camel — to know shame, she'd have to spend time around people who have some.
::: posted by Steven at 1:07 AM
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