[zook]

I'm sorry, but that's one of the nuttiest things I've heard around here in a long, long time. What Safire is doing is analyzing a political move by Kerry and exposing it for what it is. That is not use, abuse, exploitation, or anything like it.

[Steve_Seattle]

"What Safire is doing is analyzing a political move by Kerry and exposing it for what it is."

You are correct, and I think he did it well. But I would add that this ploy is also directed at moderates. It is trying to imply a hypocrisy or conflict between Cheney's attitudes as a caring father and his duties as a mean Republican. By pretending to understand Cheney's daughter better than Cheney himself does, Kerry was going for the soft, soccer mom vote. But I think it backfired; people rightly saw it as out of line, intrusive, smarmy, and offensive.