Kinsley: Bush's Conception Conflict

[kskiska]

It was, I believe, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) who first made the excellent, bitter and terribly unfair joke about conservatives who believe in a right to life that begins at conception and ends at birth.

This joke has been adapted for use against various Republican politicians ever since. In the case of President Bush, though, it appears to be literally true.

Bush, as we know, believes deeply and earnestly that human life begins at conception. Even tiny embryos composed of a half-dozen microscopic cells, he thinks, have the same right to life as you and I do. That is why he cannot bring himself to allow federal funding for research on new lines of embryonic stem cells or even for other projects in labs where stem cell research is going on. Even though these embryos are obtained from fertility clinics, where they would otherwise be destroyed anyway, and even though he appears to have no objection to the fertility clinics themselves, where these same embryos are manufactured and destroyed by the thousands -- nevertheless, the much smaller number of embryos needed and destroyed in the process of developing cures for diseases such as Parkinson's are, in effect, tiny little children whose use in this way constitutes killing a human being and therefore is intolerable.

But President Bush does not believe that the deaths of all little children as a result of U.S. policy are, in effect, murder. He thinks that some, while very unfortunate, are also inevitable and essential.

(snip)

And regarding Iraq you are quite the man, aren't you, "making the tough decisions." A regular Harry Truman, consigning thousands to death in order to bring democracy and freedom and peace to millions. But Truman actually produced democracy and freedom and peace, whereas you want credit for your hopes. That's not how it works. If you want to be the hard-ass, you get judged by results. And you can't be Gandhi and Truman at the same time.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801457.html

[grytpype]

1. Big, big, big K&R

This is Friday's MUST READ ARTICLE.

[Demit]

2. "you can't be Gandhi and Truman at the same time." Excellent.

I'll bet Kinsley was thinking of how Bush wants to be Churchill and Lincoln too. Maybe he'll cover that in a follow up piece.

[bronxiteforever]

3. Great points

Deaths of Iraqis are "yawn, so what" but stem cell, that causes a fury to erupt here.

One point to follow up- is they KNEW the invasion and occupation of a country that didn't attack us would mean that the US would KILL civilians. And all those who supported that war are drenched in the blood of those innocent THOUSANDS. How can we sleep when our beds are burning?