The complicated Lynne Cheney.

In the recent reawakening of interest in Lynne Cheney's past literary career -- the subject of much scurrilous humor and thoughtful analysis -- we find ourselves mildly puzzled at the presence of what appears to be a former thoughtful feminist scholar at the side of our staunchly conservative Vice/Shadow President of the United States, Dick Cheney.

The "Acknowledgements" of her rediscovered and most celebrated work, Sisters, features the following mention:

"I owe a particular debt to the men and women working to bring to light details of the daily personal lives of nineteenth-century women. Linda Gordon, author of Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right is one such researcher; G. J. Barker-Benfield, author of Horrors of the Half-Known Life, is another. I would also like to acknowledge Carrol Smith-Rosenberg. Her article, 'The Female World of Love and Ritual,' in Signs (1975), helped guide my thinking."

Has Dick read these? Does he know? And can Lynne Cheney, author of Sisters, really be the same as this one?

As a reminder of Mrs. Cheney's views on academia, we present a brief sampling of some of the comments that were cited in that report as "anti-American":

49. Wasima Alikhan, Islamic Academy of Las Vegas: “[I]gnorance breeds hate.”

50. David Coleman, student, University of Oklahoma: “[I]ntolerance breeds hate, hate breeds violence and violence breeds death, destruction and heartache.”

51. “Hate breeds hate.”—sign at University of Maryland

52. “An eye for an eye makes the world blind.”—sign at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

53. Ivy League student:“What you have to look at is the underlying reasons. Poverty breeds resentment and resentment breeds anger.”

54. Brown student activist: “I consider myself a patriot. I think this country does wonderful things for its citizens, but we must acknowledge the terrible things it often does to the citizens of other countries.”

55. Bill Crain, professor of psychology, City College of New York: “Our diplomacy is horrible.”

Strong stuff.

Or how about this Lynne Cheney? Can the years have made that much of a difference?

We encourage Lynne Cheney to acknowledge, rather than seek to forget, her personal history with feminism, to revisit her roots, and to write another gay-themed historical romance. Our staff has determined that this was the "good" Lynne Cheney, who was apparently absorbed and made away with by the one that's in place now. But the old one must be there, somewhere, inside.