How deep a hole have John Kerry, Mary Beth Cahill and the Edwards dug for themselves? How lasting the damage?

As I watched the debate, the one thought I had about the gay marriage question at the time (see my post here) was that it seemed to me to be the one question that Kerry seemed comfortable with. When he I actually mentioned Mary Cheney, the only particular note that I took of it was that he seemed to rush through the topic as if it were all one word something like this: "...if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter [noticeable pause] whoisalesbianshewouldtellyou..." Afterwards as I thought about the unusual nature of the comment, what I took from it was that he was trying to subtly trying to throw the word "lesbian" in there so quickly that no one would even notice. Maybe he'd knock a few Christian conservatives for a loop. But even now, it's not Kerry's comment that bothers me; it's the comments that followed from Cahill and Elizabeth Edwards that really struck a nerve. Cahill saying that Mary Cheney is "fair game" seemed unbelievable. That the DNC would label the child of the candidate as a target to be discussed and used as if she were nothing more than a talking point is in many ways quite frightening. And the coup de gras in all of this were the comments from Elizabeth Edwards that the Cheney's reactions to having their daughter's sexuality brought front and center were just an expression of the "shame" they feel with regards to her sexual preference. Her statement should win the prize for the most vile and disgusting statement ever uttered in a presidential campaign. I don't know anything about Mrs. Edwards (and honestly I didn't know Mary Cheney was gay until about a month or two ago) because quite frankly she's unimportant to the campaign, but having said what she's said I think we catch a glimpse into the soul of the lawyers she's associated with: namely John Kerry and John Edwards. TV and movies like "Law and Order" or "A Few Good Men" sensationalize trial lawyers and the depths they go to for the benefit of their client. I didn't think lawyers like that really existed until now. Recall that John Edwards made reference to Mary Cheney once already (he was given a pass because of the context of the question and answers in the VP debate), and I haven't heard a clip of it yet, but supposedly another Kerry campaign official made reference to Mary Cheney with very similar phrasing and terminology to Kerry, Edwards, and Cahill. All these coincidences really start to make this look more like a strategy. If Mary Cheney is "fair game" right now two weeks from election without any apology from the Kerry or the DNC, I think the Bush family, Bush's campaign team, and Republicans in general ought to prepare themselves for other slanderous statements aimed at people that are usually off the radar during a campaign. At this point I don't know if I would be surprised if the hatchetmen and women of the DNC tried to smear the Bush twins. I would expect the DNC to have more class and tact than that, but I'm not hopeful of it.