Now It's My Turn

May 1, 2006
This is not another coming-out story. Mary Cheney, whose father, Dick Cheney, was not upset by her sexual orientation, carefully avoids this overworked theme and focuses on her role in the 2000 and 2004 campaigns of his run for vice-president of the United States. By doing so, she pursues another tired topic, the insider look at political campaigns. Cheney's view lacks any introspection and verges on idolatry: not only does Father always know best but he is also calm, courageous, righteous, loving and wise. Whenever her dad's name comes up, Cheney's voice becomes sugary and worshipful. Her anecdotes and breezy delivery move the audio along nicely, but sometimes her narrative undercuts the hero she worships, as when her father, confronted by an audience of elementary schoolers instead of their parents, proceeds with a speech on school bonds that baffles his young audience. Those hoping for a look at Cheney's relationship with her partner, Heather Poe, will be disappointed. Cheney's voice seethes with anger at intrusions into her private life, but she fails to see that if the Democrats hadn't pushed her into the spotlight, there would be little interest in this book.