John Kerry has to be happy. President Bush's stylistically lackluster performance in the first presidential debate put Kerry right back into the thick of the race, and while Kerry didn't knock Bush out, he certainly put Bush behind the eight ball. Unless President Bush can exceed expectations in the second and third debates, Kerry will hold the advantage as this election goes down to the wire. Chances are good that President Bush will do a better job in the second debate than he did in the first. In the first debate, Bush scored some clear policy victories over Kerry -- in the debate itself, Kerry flip-flopped on key issues, providing the Bush campaign with material to use against him.
Laura Bush: Gay Marriage, Abortion Should be Legal
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George W. Bush on Gay Marriage, Immigration, and Why Obama Kept His Terrorism Policies - ABC News
Asked his position on the subject at a town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, Cheney replied: ''Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue that our family is very familiar with. With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be able to free -- ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to. Cheney went on to reiterate the position he first outlined in the campaign -- that same-sex marriage should be left to the states to decide. He noted, however, that Bush has endorsed a constitutional amendment preventing the states from recognizing such marriages. And he's made it. The remarks were the farthest Cheney has gone in laying out his differences with Bush's position, and they took leaders of the GOP conservative base by surprise.
GAY MARRIAGE: Did issue help re-elect Bush?
At a campaign rally in this Mississippi River town, Cheney spoke supportively about gay relationships when asked about his stand on gay marriage. People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to. Historically, that's been a relationship that has been handled by the states. The states have made that fundamental decision of what constitutes a marriage," he said. Bush backs a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage, a move Cheney says was prompted by various judicial rulings, including the action in Massachusetts that made gay marriage legal.
Tears or no, the feud Vice dramatizes in the Cheney family over Mary Cheney's sexual orientation was very much real. The conflict, which fractured the notoriously close family five years ago, is back in the spotlight thanks to the film, which has drawn serious awards notice and is likely to keep the Cheneys in the headlines through the Oscars. Here, according to previous PEOPLE reports, other news accounts and statements from the Cheneys themselves, is the true story behind their fight, the crux of which was love — familial and romantic. Growing up, the Cheney daughters were a vivacious and personable duo: together on the road, handing out pamphlets and swag at campaign events. While a junior in high school, Mary came out to her family as gay.
