Edwards defends choice to mention Cheney's gay daughter in debate

Associated Press and Charlotte Observer ^ | May 10, 2006 | BETH FOUHY

[Peach]

John Edwards defended his decision to mention the sexual orientation of Vice President Dick Cheney's openly gay daughter in a 2004 debate, rejecting Mary Cheney's criticism in a newly released book.

Attending a labor rally in New York on Wednesday, Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, was asked about Mary Cheney's comments about the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee. In her book, "Now It's My Turn," Cheney called Edwards a "total slime" and argued that he tried to use her sexual orientation as a political tool against her father.

She said she mouthed an expletive after Edwards praised the Cheney family during the October 2004 debate for their willingness "to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter."

Edwards said Wednesday that he stood by the comments.

"What I did was express my respect and admiration for the way the Cheney family, along with millions of other families, have embraced members of their family, and if I remember the vice president was very gracious in reacting to that," Edwards said. "I think it was appropriate."

During the debate, moderator Gwen Ifill asked Vice President Cheney about his comments that "freedom means freedom for everybody" and whether that was consistent with the Bush administration's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Cheney repeated his comments on freedom and added, "People ought to be free to choose any arrangement they want. It's really no one else's business." He said that was a separate question from government sanction of a union.

That prompted Edwards to mention the Cheneys' daughter and how they deserve respect for being willing to talk about her.

After additional Edwards' comments on gay marriage and civil unions, the vice president said, "Let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."

In recent months, Edwards has traveled the country as a vocal anti-poverty advocate while contemplating a possible 2008 presidential bid. He refused on Wednesday to say whether he had made a decision about a possible candidacy, saying only that he is "seriously thinking about it."

[New Girl]

lol! The little, silky, pony.

[Frenetic]

"Quick on your feet"

- Trust me, it took about ten minutes of mental deliberation beforehand. Had to run the senario through my head a few times to make sure I didn't come across as threatening and land myself in airport security.

[bboop]

Hahaha, she called him a total slime. hahaha. in print.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Here's that WaPo article by the way: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/03/AR2006040301487.html

[Peach]

Oh, I remember reading that now. Thanks for finding that.

[Howlin]

Scientific Studies Show: John Kerry Is Depressing

We love all the weird scientific-studies-with-political-implications that are Richard Morin’s stock-in-trade (see links collected below). In today’s Post, citing a study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, he informs us:

Forget the Swift boat ads, the economy or international terrorism. Here’s what really may have decided the last presidential election: President Bush and Vice President Cheney sounded more presidential than their Democratic counterparts. Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) seemed the most depressed or suicidal. And Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), sounded the most like a “girly man.”

Perhaps the Texas-based researchers were biased in favor of their native son. But hey, can you really argue with findings like this:

Cheney easily sounded the smartest of the four, while Edwards and Bush favored the least sophisticated language patterns…. When it came to sounding presidential, both Bush and his running mate scored considerably higher than Kerry or Edwards. Bush was the oldest-sounding candidate. Edwards also was the most likely to use feminine speech patterns and “female” words (Bush was a close second), while Cheney sounded most like a man’s man.

Cheney as a man’s man, and Edwards as a girly man? We’ve been saying this all along. The article continues:

The vice president sounded the most honest of the four, and Kerry the least. Kerry’s language also was most like that of a depressed person, followed by Edwards.

Guys, you didn’t need to squander perfectly good grant money to tell us that John Kerry is depressed. If you had lost the 2004 election (and were married to Teresa), you’d be pretty depressed too.

Smart Talk and Girly Talk on the Campaign Trail [WP]

Earlier: ‘Post’ Celebrates Whacking Day
John McCain: Proven Scary By Science

Post article

[Frenetic]

"Hahaha, she called him a total slime. hahaha. in print."

- LOL...gotta love it. I was slappin my knee over that remark. Righteous indignation is one of my favorite backhands.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I found that also, but I went to the source. lol

[Peach]

What a great article! And so true. I used to get depressed just listening to him.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I laughed throughout that article when I read it at the time, everything in that article confirmed all I knew about sKerry and The Breck Girl. LOL

[Paleo Conservative]

He's really one to stow thrones.

[boop]

Mary Cheney is actually a pretty "class act". She of course disagrees with her dad about gay marriage, but she is a conservative otherwise.

[higgmeister]

Edwards defends choice to mention Cheney's gay daughter in debate

Do it again Breck Girl that's partly the reason you lost!

[Denver Ditdat]

Now THAT put a big grin on my face!

[Peach]

Kerry and Edwards didn't connect with women who like a man who is a man, not an Oprah wannabe.

There is a rabic democrat who lives in this neighborhood and she thought they were both just too frou frou. Her husband is a man's man and if she was turned off, I realized a lot of Americans would be turned off.

[R.W.Ratikal]

What makes John Edwards so despicable is not that he turns his back on on the typical liberal's supposed tolerance for queers, but because he is a dedicated socialist.

There is not one iota's difference between the Communist Manifesto and the Democrat political platform.

Where am I wrong?

[Hildy]

You're making that up.

[R.W.Ratikal]

What makes John Edwards so despicable is not that he turns his back on on the typical liberal's supposed tolerance for queers, but because he is a dedicated socialist.

There is not one iota's difference between the Communist Manifesto and the Democrat political platform.

Where am I wrong?

[Peach]

You're not wrong; the rabid left are carrying out the Communist Manifesto right here and most people don't realize it.

No wonder the Democrats don't want to fix the broken school system; can't have an educated populace realize how they're being played.

[Radix]

I saw that story on Dan Rather.com but I thought it was a hoax.

LoL....Good for you.

J/K