Pirate's Cove

According to Debra Deshong, a senior advisor to the Kerry campaign, it’s not an issue. She has said that this morning, and at least one other time this week on Fox and Friends. From Elizabeth Edwards, we had “She’s (Lynne Cheney) overreacted to this and treated it as if it’s shameful to have this discussion. I think that it indicates a certain amount of shame with respect to her daughter’s sexual preference.” You peruse political forums, and you hear that Kerry’s remark is “not an issue.”

But the thing is, it is an issue. At least in the minds of the voters.

An overwhelming majority of voters believes it was wrong for John Kerry to have mentioned in Wednesday’s presidential debate that Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter is a lesbian, according to The Washington Post tracking survey.

Nearly two in three likely voters – 64 percent – said Kerry’s comment was “inappropriate,” including more than four in 10 of his supporters and half of all swing voters. A third – 33 percent – thought the remark was appropriate.

4 in 10 of Kerry supporters thought it was inappropriate. That cannot be good.

And, if it is “not an issue,” why is there so much press an discussion on the subject? It is all over Conservative and Liberal blogs and news sites, all over political forums, all over even the Democratic Underground. A search of the words “Mary Cheney” and “Kerry” at Yahoo news brings back 1,048 hits, which, of course, many are the same story in different news sites. But they are carrying them. And that is good amount of hits for a story that came out late Wed. night.

But there is some good spin from the Left. Fatblog thinks we should put lesbians in fully body, Muslim women type covering. You also have spin by Media Matters, of course. Leftwingers are pulling out all the stops to spin the issue away. One of their favorite is to spam it, so that it looses power. Not working, though.

Should it be an issue? Yes. It goes to the character of John Kerry and his campaign. Character certainly matters. At least it does when it is Lefties commenting on George W Bush. Kerry could have easily stopped the issue with a quick apology. “I didn’t mean for the comment to be insulting or demeaning in any way. Mary’s name was the first to pop into my mind, as you can imagine. I apologize to Mary Cheney and her family.” Boom, done with. Instead, nothing. You had Mary Beth Cahill running her mouth after the debate, and putting Kerry in a bad situation, though, I personally do not believe that Kerry would have apologized. More on that later.

Cahill did put Kerry in a poor situation with her remarks.

“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.”

Kerry has tried to back away, but, ‘taint working, John. The man doesn’t know how to back away properly. Consider his whole medal/ribbons fiasco. Easily remedied. “I was a young man, I was angry, and I said I threw my medals away. Saying medals has considerably more impact then ribbons. It was a long time ago.” Don’t know about you, but for me, that ends the issue. Instead, you Kerry spinning like Roulette wheel, never knowing what number and color comes up. I doubt he knows, either.

I have a couple theories on why he mentioned Mary Cheney. First, it was a case where her name popped into his mind, and it didn’t mean anything negative to him. It is understandable that it would be first, what with it coming up in the VP debate, and a Presidential campaign being in full swing.

2nd, it was planned, and the meaning was to drive a wedge in the GOP and between Bush and Cheney

3rd, it was planned, and was an attempt to embarrass the GOP and the Bush campaign.

4th, it was either planned or an impromptu remark, attempting to create a controversy that would overshadow the fact that Kerry got his azz handed to him on a stick, since he was not doing to well on issues (domestic) that should be slam dunks for a Democrat. Especially one that has been in the Senate for 20 years. He was kicked through the uprights from 50+ by W on that subject, as well.

5th, Kerry is just a jerk, and doesn’t really care who he hurts or annoys. See Australia, Poland, Italy, England, and many of the other countries he has insulted, as well as our Vietnam Veterans.

Take your pick. I lean towards #1 then # 4, with #5 coming into play in the first 4. Kerry has a history of saying anything, without thought to the consequences. He just looks for the shot of the moment. Add another reason why Kerry should never be President of the USA. He thinks towards the immediate, not the long term.

The remark about Mary Cheney is an issue, and will remain an issue. It remains to be seen how bad it may affect him at the polls. I personally know 3 life long Democrats who have said that they would no longer vote for Kerry. They didn’t know if the would vote for Bush or Bednariak, but not Kerry. 3 may not be much, but 3 is a large number when I heard about them between the debate and Saturday afternoon, without being out much.

PS: This from Slings and Arrow:

Kerry was struggling to get past the negative fallout when he made his surprise slap at campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill. “No, I don’t like that characterization. I did not know she said that . . . I would ask her not to characterize it such,” Kerry told the editorial board of Iowa’s Des Moines Register newspaper.

But when asked if he regretted his own remarks, Kerry replied, “No, I don’t.”

Add Cahill to the ranks of Secret Service ski patrol and speech writers. (Byron’s words, not mine)