Emphasis Added

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Stop the Presses! Mary Cheney is Gay!

This morning, I've taken a glance at CNN and Headline News and noticed they are not running the Bush/Osama clip or leading their debate coverage with this striking contradiction. Instead, somehow, the story out of the debate is Lynne Cheney's outrage that Kerry mentioned her gay daughter, Mary, in the context of defending the dignity and humanity of gay people. Now as far as I know, it's not news that Mary Cheney is gay - in fact, she's not only open about it, but has parleyed it into gainful employment by working as a "community outreach" representative for Coors Brewery. Nor is there, or should there be, any shame about acknowledging this. If Kerry had said that Cheney's other daughter was an open heterosexual - even has kids! - this would not draw comment from anyone. The only "controversial" bit is that Mary Cheney's father is the mastermind of an Administration that is using the rights of certain Americans as a scare tactic to gin up votes among the ignorant and hateful.

So I ask first, to Lynne Cheney, what's outrageous here? And second, to CNN, where's the news here?

12:06:22 PM

Emphasize This! []

Debate Wrap

Early in the debate, I noted although did not make much of Bush's denial that he ever said he was "unconcerned" about capturing Osama Bin Laden. I actually remember the event where he said it - during one of those press worship-the-leader events in 2002 where he probably felt like he could say anything with a wink and a chuckle because no one would dare challenge him, what with his 90% approval rating and all. I figured it wouldn't register much on the debate-o-meter, since it wasn't really a matter of substance.

It now strikes me as a catostrophic blunder, especially since several networks were very quick on the air with the clip. Not only was Bush caught in a cheap, easy-to-disprove lie, obviously told to cover up an embarassing moment, and not only did it bust Bush's attempt to saddle Kerry with the shopworn "exaggerator" charge that worked so well on the hapless Gore last time, but the real damage is that it means we will see lots more of what has to be a low moment in Bush's tenure in office.

At the time he made the Bin Laden remark, Bush was waist-deep in trying to change the subject from Al Qaeda to Iraq in preparation for launching the war. In real-time, it was striking to those of us who never thought it was appropriate to go after Iraq until the more pressing priorities of the terrorism situation - most particularly Afghanistan and Al Qaeda - were wrapped up, but it didn't seem to register much on the radar for anyone else. Now in retrospect, it reminds everyone of the extent to which Bush really did take his eye off the ball while he tried to whip us into a frenzy to support the ill-fated Iraq adventure.

In short, that clip is the Cliff Notes version of everything wrong about Bush's approach to the war on terror - incompetent, arrogant and misguided. And because Bush didn't just skate past it when Kerry brought it up, we're going to see it again and again and again, with a reminder that this is something Bush didn't really want us to believe he ever said. Nice move, Mr. soon-to-be-ex President.

7:33:49 AM

Emphasize This! []