At the risk of pugnacity. . .

. . .I'm going to keep the discussion alive a little longer:

In order to believe that John Kerry had nothing but the best of intentions in bringing up Mary Cheney, you have to believe that John Kerry said something in the final presidential debate without regard to the political consequences. You have to believe that it was an issue that hadn't been discussed among his advisors, regarding how to respond when confronted with the gay marriage issue. You have to believe that the question had taken him by surprise, and that no one had told him to be careful in how he referred to Mary Cheney in the context of the issue.