Mary Cheney Redux (Another Look at an Old Issue)

I ran across Andrew Sullivan's article in which he takes William Safire to task for criticizing John Kerry's mention of Mary Cheney during the debates. Jonah Goldberg of the National Review argues that Kerry is "creepy" for bringing up Mary Cheney's sexual orientation because he is "using" a family member of an opponent for political gain. Ultimately, however, Goldberg's argument still rests on the assumption that homosexuality is a stigma. He asks, for example, what would happen if George Bush brought up John Kerry's divorce. Goldberg would probably regard divorce as something to be ashamed of; the whole point of the arguments of people like Sullivan and Hillary Rosen is that homosexuality is not. As for Goldberg's asking whether Kerry would have been offended if Bush had commented on the fact that Teresa Kerry is a successful immigrant; I do not think that Kerry would have so much as blinked.