Some applaud it, others are angered by it, but there's no doubt everyone has an opinion about John Kerry's mention of Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary in Wednesday night's televised presidential debate.

So, what's all the fuss about?

It began when Bush and Kerry were asked a question: "Do you think homosexuality is a choice?"

Bush answered first, saying "I don't know. I do know that we a have a choice to make in America, and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity. It's important that we do that. And I also know in a free society, people -- consenting adults -- can live the way they want to live."

Kerry responded by saying "We're all God's children. I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as."

During the debate, both Bush and Kerry said they believe marriage should be defined as the union between a man and a woman.  However, Bush supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage while Kerry does not

Lynne Cheney, the Vice President's wife, seemed positively furious as she responded to Kerry's remark.

"Of course, I am speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom," she said. "What a cheap and tawdry political trick."

It's unclear what trick Cheney was referring to or why it was offensive. Her daughter, Mary, is indeed out of the closet and has been for a long time. She even works on her father's campaign as a top adviser, earning a reported $100,000 US.

But it's clear that Lynne may have had some trouble accepting her daughter's sexuality. When ABC reporter Cokie Roberts asked her about Mary being openly gay four years ago, Cheney denied it, saying "My daughter has never declared such a thing."

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said Lynne Cheney's response "indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences."

When Dick Cheney spoke to reporters after Kerry's remark he said of Kerry "You saw a man who will do and say anything to get elected, and I am not just speaking as a father here, although I am a pretty angry father."

Kerry also issued a statement after the story broke, saying "I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue."

Though his statement may have been intended to resolve the issue, it hasn't stopped the torrent of opinions flying around about Mary Cheney.

Chrissy Gephardt, 31, is also the lesbian daughter of a high-profile politician. Her father is Richard Gephardt, a Democratic congressman.

"I'm not angry at Mary Cheney, I'm angry with the way they've handled her," she told SFgate.com "You never hear Bush or Cheney even say the word 'lesbian.' It's like it's a dirty word. When John Kerry said the word 'lesbian' in the debate, it probably made their toes curl."

A group called the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay GOP organization said Kerry "could have made his point about gay and lesbian Americans without mentioning the vice president's daughter," in a statement.

It added "this shouldn't distract us from the fact that President Bush, Karl Rove and other Republicans have been using gay and lesbian families as a political wedge issue in this campaign."

Meanwhile, gay conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan wrote on his in his Web log, "In many speeches on marriage rights, I cite Mary Cheney. Why? Because it exposes the rank hypocrisy of people like President Bush and Dick and Lynne Cheney who don't believe gays are anti-family demons but want to win the votes of people who do.

"I'm not outing any gay person," Sullivan wrote. "I'm outing the double standards of straight ones."

Mary herself is mum on the issue, as she has been during most of the campaign. She prefers to stand behind the sidelines, quietly supporting her father's political aspirations.

"I think of her as sort of my aide-de-camp," Dick Cheney told the New York Times. "She has no qualms about telling me when she thinks I'm wrong, or when I need to do something. Mary will always come in and lay it right on me."

The discussions between father and daughter must be pretty spirited. At one point, Dick Cheney had one of the most anti-gay voting records in U.S. Congress.

He also voted against funding for AIDS testing and research in 1988 when the virus was thought to be an exclusively gay disease.

That same year, Cheney also voted against the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which calls for the collection of data on hate crimes in the U.S., including those based on sexual orientation.

There's a sense of uneasiness about Mary's public appearances. When Cheney made his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in New York, his whole family joined him on stage -- except for Mary.

She sat in the audience with her partner. When the speech was over, Mary and her partner were gone. Her absence raised eyebrows, especially amongst gay Republicans.

"PFLAG moms and dads were moved by Dick Cheney's words of pride for Mary and her basic rights to equal freedoms in America, said PFLAG president Sam Thoron, himself the father of a lesbian daughter. "That made her conspicuous absence from last night's celebration especially disheartening."

"Sadly, the message last night was that Mary was not welcome to share the stage with her straight sister," Ron Schlittler, executive director of PFLAG. "It was a missed opportunity by Lynn and Dick Cheney to show the country a family in all its diversity, sharing an exciting moment together."

A spokesperson for the Bush Cheney campaign declined to comment on Mary's whereabouts after her father's speech.

Although Dick Cheney was offended by Kerry's remark, he didn't seem to mind it when John Edwards referred to his daughter during the vice-presidential debate.

Edwards said, "You can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing."

Cheney responded, "Let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."

If Bush and Cheney win the election, many will be watching to see what role, if any, Mary will play in shaping American policy.