Posted on 05/02/2006 1:10:54 PM PDT by meandog
New York, N.Y. – In her new memoir, NOW IT'S MY TURN(Simon & Schuster/Threshold Editions, 2006), Mary Cheney writes that when she told her parents she was gay, the first words out of her father’s mouth “were exactly the ones that I wanted to hear: ‘You’re my daughter, and I love you, and I just want you to be happy.’”
VANITY FAIR editor Todd Purdum reports that Mary Cheney tells her story in a voice very much like her father’s, and that she came out to her parents when she was a junior in high school, on a day when, after breaking up with her first girlfriend, she skipped school, ran a red light, and crashed the family car. Cheney writes that her mother hugged her, but then burst into tears, worried that she would face a life of pain and prejudice.
When Purdum asks the vice president whether he thinks gay people are born that way, Cheney scrunches up his mouth, fixes him with a look that says “Nice try,” then says: “I’m not going to get into that. Those are deeply personal questions. You can ask.”
Mary Cheney tells Purdum that her father “has very little tolerance for bullshit, pardon my French.” She also says that one common reaction from people who have read the manuscript of her book is “‘Wow, you guys really have this close-knit, loving family,’ and it always strikes me as ‘Yeah, of course we do.’ It was very surprising to me that people would think we didn’t.”
When Purdum asks Cheney if he is fatalistic about his heart disease, Cheney says, “I am. I don’t even think about it most of the time. You do those things a prudent man would do, and I live with it.” Asked what he would have for breakfast at Nora’s Fish Creek Inn, his favorite pre-fishing spot in Wilson, Wyoming, Cheney responds without missing a beat: “I’d probably have two eggs over easy, sausage and hash browns,” then hastens to add that that is not his normal breakfast. “The day I go fishing, I get off my diet,” he says.” At a roundtable lunch with reporters a couple of years ago, two who were present tell Purdum that Cheney cut his buffalo steak in bite-size pieces the moment it arrived, then proceeded to salt each side of each piece.
Cheney tells Purdum that he has not changed over the years, but perhaps many of his contemporaries think he has “because of my associations over the years, or because I came across as a reasonable guy, people have one view of me that was not necessarily an accurate reflection of my philosophy or my view of the world.”
Purdum asks Cheney if, during his “darkest night,” he has even “a little doubt” about the administration’s course. “No,” he tells Purdum. “I think we’ve done what needed to be done.” Of the debate over whether or not the administration hyped the pre-war intelligence, Cheney says, “In the end, you can argue about the quality of the intelligence and so forth, but ... I look at that whole spectrum of possibilities and options, and I think we did the right thing.”
Cheney rejects the caricature of him as the power behind the throne, insisting, “I think we have created a system that works for this president and for me, in terms of my ability to be able to contribute and participate in the process.” When Purdum says that the cartoon characterization of him must not be accurate, Cheney says, “My image might be better out there, this caricature you talk about might be avoided, if I spent more time as a public figure trying to improve my image, but that’s not why I’m here.”
Purdum reports that Cheney travels with a chemical-biological suit at all times. When he gave his friend Robin West and his twin children a ride to the White House a couple of years ago, West commented on the fact that Cheney’s motorcade varied its daily path. “And he said, ‘Yeah, we take different routes so that “The Jackal” can’t get me,’” West tells Purdum. “And then there was this big duffel bag in the middle of the backseat, and I said, ‘What’s that? It’s not very roomy in here.’ And [Cheney] said, ‘No, because it’s a chemical-biological suit,’ and he looked at it and said, ‘Robin, there’s only one. You lose.’”
Purdum talks with former New York Times reporter and former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, James Naughton, who asks of Cheney: “Does he acknowledge that he is not as pleasant as he used to be?” Naughton knew Cheney as a fellow prankster during the 1976 campaign, and all but sighs in search of an explanation as to why he is so different now. “I guess I would like to believe,” he says, “without any evidence to support it, that coming very close to death has somehow compelled him to act as though he only has so much breath and so much life, that he’s only got so much time to accomplish what he has to do. But the public figure is nothing like the private one that I remember.”
Gerald Ford tells Purdum: “He may have changed a bit, but that was required for the change of circumstances.” Ford, who will turn 93 in July, adds, “Times change, and people change as a result of that.”
“If you’re looking for a change from one point to another, being vice president is sui generis,” Lynne Cheney tells Purdum. “It’s not quite like any other job.”
The June issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands in New York and L.A. on May 3 and nationally on May 9.
"And how should children feel for completely disappointing their parents and going against what the parents believe? It's a two-way street."
Amen.
how i wish this man would run for POTUS.
Admittedly, I'm atheist, but...
Suggesting the Cheneys will go to hell for not turning away their daughter does not jibe with ANYTHING I ever learned of Christian theology.
The lesbian you speak of must understand that she can choose her immorality but she can't choose other people's response to it. I am sure her parents would welcome her back if she starts living right. They would rejoice, I'll bet you. But they should not have to ignore their beliefs for the relationship. Clearly you do not expect the daughter to ignore her lust for women in order to restore the relationship? Why should the parents have to ignore their principles? It works both ways.
It's one thing if the child is underage, but quite another if they are adults.
Your generalization makes me wonder about you.
The situation with Alan Keyes and his daughter is not parallel. IIRC, his daughter is very rebellious in other ways as well.
"So you would never judge your children for anything except judging? What about their grades? Will you judge them if they bring home failing grades? Skip school? Use drugs? Get arrested? Commit a crime? Yell curses at you? Something? Surely there is something you would judge them on, or what use are you as a parent? Good parents care about their children's moral character."
Who cares about what her Dad thinks, what about The Village? /Hillary Clintoon logic
"Principles" don't amount to a hill of beans if one ignores the great commandment: love others as I have loved you.
Parents who turn their back on a gay child need to grow up and learn what love really is.
Not entirely. I would equate the sheep with the homo thing. Both are totally unnatural. The child thing is even more disgusting to me because you are talking about someone too young to consent -- a victim. But premises are premises. If morality doesn't count then all three are morally equivalent. Age of consent is a moral restraint. You have no right to judge it otherwise.
Excellent post.
I know someone, very conservative, whose (adult) child is homosexual. The parent would love to maintain contact but the child refuses to maintain a relationship solely because of the parent's "homophobia" even though the parent never, ever even brings up the topic.
In fact, other members of the family refuse to speak or write to this person because they are intolerant of "homophobia". Even though the parent in question never, ever mentions anything about homosexuality.
So the shoe can be on the other foot as well.
I didn't say they were going to hell or heaven. I just asked you if it will matter.
Well, I'm the mom of a gay daughter. It was a sad and tormented day that she was outed (against her will by a little high school punk)I had a fit, a tantrum, I cried and I screamed and then I calmed down, I accepted it and now we are as close as ever. I'm not Cher, and we wont be having a bunch of family dinners and when she's in my home she respects my beliefs on the subject. But the real story is that she's my precious (big) baby and you always love your kids.
You're right, but then no two situations are completely alike. I was just trying to say that the Cheneys were much more supportive than other parents in similar situations.
I have several gay friends who are good people. I don't like the 'in your face' gays but generally they don't bother me.
Gotta be said, so I'll say it. You did the right thing. I know a lot of gay folks who were tossed from their homes. Although many have become quite successful, they still have the scars.
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