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Personally, I did not find the comment offensive, but it does point out how far out of touch the DemocRATS are.

The comment came across as pre-planned. As if his advisor said 'Make sure to mention that Cheney's daughter is lesbian'. This was just my impression, the way he seemed to force the sentence. I'm not particularly offended by it, but it is weird. 'Being as she was born as'? What's that supposed to mean? Is it good to be a serial rapist if that's what you were 'born as'? As a presidential candidate, Kerry should have known better. Maybe he could have led up to the same thing a little more adroitly.

"The comment came across as pre-planned."

It was, just as Edwards' comment about Cheney's daughter was preplanned. By doing this, they are playing several different angles: (1) trying to make the Republicans anti-gay marriage stance seem cruel and hypocritical; (2) trying to present Cheney as a failed father ("he raised a GAY daughter - hmmmmmmmm") whose ideology cannot overcome the truth of gayness; (3) trying to appear more sympathetic to - and understanding of - Cheney's daughter than Cheney himself is; and (4) trying to drive a wedge between Bush and Cheney to weaken the perception of Republicans as decidly anti-gay marriage. This is a very deliberate strategy. The strategy is aimed at conservatives (items 2 and 4), moderates (items 1 and 3), and liberals (items 1 and 2).