The New York Times has a review of “Now It’s My Turn,” by the vice president’s daughter, Mary Cheney:

Her book is neither a manifesto of personal liberation nor an analysis of the gay marriage wars, but a buttoned-up account of a life spent barnstorming for Republicans.

Apparently, Mary is not into gay pride:

[She] describes hissing a furious expletive at the TV when Senator John Kerry referred to her as a “lesbian” in the third 2004 presidential debate (she prefers referring at arm’s length to “my sexual orientation,” as if it were an intransigent military position, perhaps, or a pesky shadow she just can’t shake). She was angry, among other reasons, she writes, because “he had used the word ‘lesbian,’ instead of the more common and politically neutral term ‘gay.’ ”

When exactly did the word “lesbian” become a scathing insult, alongside that other once-glorious, classically derived seven-letter L-word: liberal?

She’s the type of gal who’d rather go along to get along:

Cheney acknowledges that the president’s position on gay marriage gives her “a knot in the pit of my stomach,” so what in the name of Rita Mae Brown stopped her from confronting him? Timidity? Deference? Or her avowed desire to “maintain a low profile” (which raises the question: why write this book at all)? Certainly it is not her God-given responsibility, as a Republican operative who happens to be gay, to be an advocate for gay and lesbian issues. But — with apologies to Dan Quayle and the United Negro College Fund — what a waste.

A waste of good trees, too. The book sold fewer than 6,000 copies in its first month, despite a publicty barrage highlighted by a tour of the talk shows by Cheney herself.

Some people are born to greatness while others achieve greatness. And then there are people like Mary Cheney who pass up a chance at greatness because of self-esteem issues emanating from internalized homophobia.