I watched the debate last week, and said at the time that Kerry had made a huge mistake by parading Mary Cheney around because she is gay. People are still talking about it as the straw that might break his back.

Why Cheney's daughter? Kerry knows lots of famous people who believe - as he says Mary Cheney believes - that they were born gay. He could have cited Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank or New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey. Both are public men who could offer personal testimony about the inborn nature of homosexuality.

But that wasn't the point Kerry wanted to make. He was crying Mary to send a message to presumably homophobic Christian voters: Just in case you hadn't heard, the vice president harbors a practicing lesbian in the bosom of his family.

His plan might have seriously backfired.

Since the debate, the Christian right has been rallying to the side of Mary Cheney. Well-known political preachers like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson have gone out of their way to defend her right to privacy. Conservative radio talk shows and Web sites have been flooded with denunciations of Kerry and support for Mary.

...

Mary Cheney may be gay, but it turns out there are worse things. At least she isn't a Democrat.

I have linked to several articles above, but the quotes are from NY Daily News.