Angry in the Great White North

From DW-i 2, we are asked to recall Michelle Malkin's words about John Kerry:

John Kerry stooped to the lowest of the low with the shameless, invasive line that will be played over and over again on the news in the next 24 hours:

And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as.

Um, has John Kerry talked to Dick Cheney's daughter? Has John Edwards? Has Mary Beth Cahill, who called Mary Cheney "fair game" on Fox News Channel after tonight's debate? If they haven't talked to her, they should shut up, leave her alone, and defend their incoherent position on gay marriage without hiding behind the vice president's daughter.

Then we compare that to this comment about Cindy Sheehan:

I can't imagine Army Spc. Casey Sheehan would stand for his mother's crazy accusations that he was murdered by his commander-in-chief, rather than the Iraqi terrorists who ambushed his convoy. I can't imagine Army Spc. Casey Sheehan would stand for a bunch of strangers glomming onto his mother's crusade and using him to undermine the war effort as they shouted "W killed her son" in front of countless TV cameras.

He concludes:

There's hypocrisy and there's hypocrisy and then there's this.

Dave, who is an editorial assistant at USA Today, might remain as an assistant for some time, until he starts to think more clearly.

First, Mary Cheney is not dead. John Kerry and John Edwards certainly had an opportunity to talk to Mary Cheney to be certain of what she would say, instead of just assuming. In the case of Casey Sheehen, that's not likely going to happen.

Second, Dick Cheney never brought up his daughter's sexual orientation in the debate. That was brought up John Edwards in an attempt to shame or embarrass Dick Cheney. Kerry and Edwards were being lambasted for being in a debate with Dick Cheney and then going after his family without provocation. In the case of Cindy Sheehan, Cindy Sheehan is the one using Casey as a blunt instrument to beat on those whose politics she opposes. For Malkin to defend herself against that by trying to glean some insight into what Casey would have thought about this is fair play, if only because Cindy Sheehan decided to put Casey into the fight.

Finally, Casey Sheehan volunteered to join the army, voluntarily re-enlisted, and volunteered to go on the mission that cost him his life. He fought for his country under the commander-in-chief who was C-in-C when he re-enlisted. He went down fighting terrorists -- the sort that blow up children. More than a few people close to Casey suggested he believed in what he was doing. Most importantly, among those people was Cindy Sheehan herself:

But in the end, the family decided against such talk [venting frustrations to the President during their meeting], deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act.

Michelle Malkin was being generous when she said she "imagined" that Casey would not approve of his mother's actions. She had it on good authority that he would not -- Cindy Sheehan.

Go back to doing that assisting thing you do, Dave.

[Apparenlty Atrios doesn't get it either.]

[minor correction to eliminate an ambiguity]