I was one who hammered the Bush/Cheney campaign pretty hard for not having their daughter Mary or her partner, Heather Poe, on stage with them at the Republican National Convention in New York after Bush's speech. All of the other family members were there, but not them, and it struck me as cruel to exclude them and quite symbolic of the administration's anti-gay policies. Given that criticism, I should at least give credit where credit is due and note that both Mary and Heather were on stage and on camera following the Vice Presidential debate last week. I'm sure the Cheney family went through what most families in that situation go through, but it appears that they came out with a very strong relationship with their daughter and with her partner, and that is to be applauded.
I also suspect that there have been some difficult moments for the Vice President given the President's position on gay marriage. He has made clear that he does not support the Federal Marriage Amendment, while also making clear that the President sets administration policy and he must support the President. I imagine there was quite a battle over whether Mary and Heather would be allowed to appear on stage with the rest of the family at the convention. I could certainly fault Cheney for his lack of political courage, but I also appreciate the difficult position he was in. I would like nothing more than for Dick and Lynne Cheney, once he leaves office, to speak out loudly on behalf of gay rights across the board. They are powerful figures on the right and their voices could go a long way toward convincing their fellow conservatives that gays are people too.
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I think it's rather cruel of the President and his Party to put Dick Cheney in that kind of position in the first place. So much for Family Values.
I think this is pretty unlikely however. He is too much of a Party loyalist. And I think that for the near future, gays are writing off the Republican part altogether. If Bush wins, it will tend to encourage this trend. If Bush were to lose, the GOP might go back to considering the Big Tent idea again.
The relationship between the Chaneys and their daughter is a private one --- hard to think of something more private and less of the public's business. In a decent society where civil civic discourse is valued, it should not be a matter for public comment [pro or con] unless and until the Chaneys or their daughter choose to make it one. They haven't.
This yellow-dog Democrat cringed during the vice-presidential debate when Edwards made his mawkish [political] statement in praise of Chaney for his relationship with his daughter. It was not an honorable thing for him to have done. That relationship is none of the public's business and should not be fodder for political commentary pro or con.
I have very little favorable to say of Mr. Chaney. He is a man to whom honesty is a stranger and honor a thing unknown. But I thought he handled Edwards' comment with grace and dignity, saying simply he thanked the Senator for his comments, and then refusing to say more.