New York Times columnist William Safire, a libertarian-leaning
conservative who opposed the marriage amendment, says reiterating
Mary Cheney's homosexuality was a sleazy attempt by the Kerry camp
to dismay Bush supporters who are against same-sex marriage. He
writes in The Lowest
Blow:
The memoir about the Kerry-Edwards campaign that will be the best seller will reveal the debate rehearsal aimed at focusing national attention on the fact that Vice President Cheney has a daughter who is a lesbian.
A "political memo" piece in the Times observes, "It is not clear whether this is a passing dust-up, as Mr. Kerry's advisers said in dismissing these latest polls, or the kind of event that could prove consequential in a race in which voters' allegiance to Mr. Kerry is anything but deep." And conservative columnist Robert Novak argues in Mistake Could Be Costly for Kerry that "It's hard to believe that in the closing weeks of a campaign where great issues are debated, the sexuality of the vice president's daughter could be determinant."
I doubt it, and I still see the election as Kerry's. But what a
surprisingly turn of events it would be if "Marygate" did turn the
election!