Journal bmetzler's Journal: Who Got Personal? Who? 12
The Kerry daughters were "surprised" and "upset" how nasty and personal the Bushes and Cheneys were during the campaign? Did they miss how nasty and personal their dad got with Cheney's daughter? After Kerry's comment, you'd think they'd recognise that the Cheney's had been more or less provoked.
It would be like me punching you, my reader, and then being completely outraged when you choose to punch me back. Who's more at fault here?
Of course, I understand that like all families, the Kerry daughters are predisposed to overlook all faults in their dad, making all social interactions their father makes seem one-sided. A potentially problematic and immature viewpoint to have when your father is involved in a very important political campaign.
Update: I've been banned from posting comments, but I thought one of the replies was worth addressing, so I am going to answer it here.
The answer is notably, that if something is public, that doesn't make it right to use it to attack them. In the Cheney's case, the fact that we all know Mary is a lesbian doesn't give Kerry (or Edwards) any right to use her to attack her father, or his running mate.
For example, I may know that someone is Hispanic. Does that give me the right to say anything I feel like about their ethnicity? No, of course not. But somehow, the fact that someone is a lesbian gives us the right to say anything we want about them. That's kind of odd, isn't it?
The Kerry daughters were upset specifically that the Cheney's would be offended at the use of their daughter as a political weapon. What right does Kerry have to expect that pass. When Mark Belling refered to hispanics as 'wetbacks' on his broadcast the Hispanic community was insulted. But why? Isn't the fact that hispanics are hispanics quite public information also?
Now that I've made my argument, which simply is, the fact that something is public information, doesn't give you the right to say anything about it, I'll move onto the answer. I don't really think that the answer is important, but what words Kerry said didn't matter. I'm not going to get in an argument over Kerry's literal words obviously, since it is the idea that he would use Mary as a political weapon that is the most distressing. However, I will quote his answer and make one point.
SCHIEFFER: Senator Kerry?
KERRY: 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 choice. I've met people who struggled with this for years, people who were in a marriage because they were living a sort of convention, and they struggled with it.
And I've met wives who are supportive of their husbands or vice versa when they finally sort of broke out and allowed themselves to live who they were, who they felt God had made them.
I think we have to respect that.
The president and I share the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe that. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.
But I also believe that because we are the United States of America, we're a country with a great, unbelievable Constitution, with rights that we afford people, that you can't discriminate in the workplace. You can't discriminate in the rights that you afford people.
You can't disallow someone the right to visit their partner in a hospital. You have to allow people to transfer property, which is why I'm for partnership rights and so forth.
Now, with respect to DOMA and the marriage laws, the states have always been able to manage those laws. And they're proving today, every state, that they can manage them adequately.
After the debate, it was brought out that Kerry has never spoken to Mary Cheney. But yet he "knows" that Mary Cheney did not "choose" to be a lesbian, and worked his entire answer around that. How does he presume to speak for her personal life. Maybe she did choose to be a lesbian? What's that to him except a chance to use her to his political advantage.
Finally, some may point to Edwards mention in the VP debate. Why wasn't a big deal made about that? What was worse when Kerry mentioned it? Well, Edwards mentioned it right to Cheney's face. Cheney choose to be a man, and let it go. But Kerry, coward as he was, mentioned it when the Cheney's couldn't respond. The Cheney's then did respond, which was their right, and now we're back to my original story:
The Kerry daughter's are upset because the Cheney's are so nasty and personal.
Update II: Some people missed the fact that this isn't about just one word or another. It is specifically about whether the fact that something is public knowledge lets us treat that anyway we want. Clue: it doesn't. For more reading on the subject, check out what defeatjohnjohn has to say about the subject.
I have never understood this. (Score:2, Insightful)
I'd welcome a law that said any presidential candidate who mentioned anything about h
Re:I have never understood this. (Score:1)
I care about the First Lady (and the wives of the candidates) because they have the potential to be in politically sensitive positions.
It seems to me, based on what I have seen of Laura Bush in the public eye, that Mrs. Bush is thoughtful and tactful. I do not think that she would say something very often without thinking about it first.
Imagine, if you will, if Senator Kerry had won the election. Imagine further that (hypothetical) Preside
Re:I have never understood this. (Score:1)
Point the second: I also think that if any foreign dignitaries who are offended enough by the dinner-party dialogue of the unelected spouse of our leader to make a diplomatic issue of it...well, they DESERVE to be bombed. =P
Re:I have never understood this. (Score:1)
That's the theory, anyway. There are a sufficient number of others who are wealthy, who seem to be a bit more tactful in public than she...
Point the second: I also think that if any foreign dignitaries who are offended enough by the dinner-party dialogue of the unelected spouse of our leader to make a dip
Re:I have never understood this. (Score:1)
Well, yes, but consider myself--I speak my mind, sometimes rather violently with lots of cursing, in public. At formal functions, where it is a good thing to be formal, you would not know me.
While I know several people who are idiotic or unrestrained enough to not keep themselves in check when the situation calls for it, I doubt
In what way was Kerry mean? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:The whole point was to disparage Cheney (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:whatever (Score:2)
Really stupid logic IMHO (Score:1)
I'm sure you're aware of the large difference between calling a lesbian a "lesbian" and calling a hispanic a "wetback", Mr. Metzler.
Other than this, nothing has changed about my opinion as expressed previously.
Re:Really stupid logic IMHO (Score:2)