John's Blog

Dubya has been pretty busy recently blocking the stem cell bill, an ethics inquiry, and international diplomacy in the middle-east via foot dragging and general indifference. But what can you expect from a guy who shows up at a meeting of international leaders and behaves much like the spoiled and disengaged frat boy that he has always been.

Picking stem cell research as his first opportunity to veto a bill seems pretty lame, since he says the bill "would support the taking of innocent human life" and would be crossing a "moral line". OK, let me see if I'm following this..destroying a multi-cell embryo is equivalent to killing a living human and is wrong. But to start a needless war which leads to countless deaths of real human life is acceptable, and doesn't cross any moral lines? More flawed logic from the gang that brought us "compassionate conservatism". Their defense of this veto relies on ignoring or distorting accepted science and looks downright silly if not batshit insane like this argument from Sam Brownback.

Apparently, once again Dubya is pandering to the "base" that has served him so well in providing a push in getting the "asses in the pews" so to speak at election time. But with just about everybody else finally seeing that the emperor has no clothes, this strategy has (hopefully) run it's course. I suspect that he might have finally stumbled upon the issue that does for the Democrats what they've been unable to do for themselves: motivate people to get out there and show their displeasure. This issue has far reaching bipartisan support, and I'm guessing that the bad taste that this leaves in the mouth will last longer than many in the administration are counting on.