Politics – especially this year – is a nasty business. The digs. The innuendoes. The hurt. The anger.

No one is safe.

Not even the children.

Not even Mary Cheney.

White House hopefuls John Kerry and John Edwards each took special pains to mention Ms. Cheney’s sexual orientation during their respective debates with their opponents, invading her privacy and angering her parents. Why?

While the Kerry, Edwards and Bush children, and some of the Cheney children have been front and center stage on the campaign trail, Mary Cheney has chosen to maintain her privacy as much as possible and work quietly on her father’s campaign, much as Chelsea Clinton did during her father’s first campaign for president.

The lifestyles of the other children are on display and wrapped in the campaign, and therefore open to criticism or praise. Ms. Cheney’s lifestyle is not, and to invade her privacy for the sake of taking a swipe at her father’s party’s platform is inexcusable.

Kerry and Edwards are out of bounds here.