"Clearly, John McCain supports it," he [spokesman Brian Rogers] said, emphasizing that the ad is intended to refer to all forms of stem cell research, including experiments using human embryos and those using cells from adults.
And, uh, Palin fits in where, exactly? It is a pressing concern to some of us:McCain’s views would prevail were he to win the White House, Rogers said, regardless of reports that his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, opposes embryonic stem cell research.
"Reports"? That's an odd word. As a campaign spokesman, don't you know whether she opposes it? I sense the desire for distance in that word, a haughty reminder of who's at the ticket's top and who isn't. I further sense contempt for Palin's (reputed) position. After all, it's just her 'personal' opinion. She's being used. More precisely, she is allowing herself to be used.So John McCain's pro-life stance on behalf of the unborn comes down to this: he believes human beings should have human rights from the moment of conception, except when he doesn't believe it.
Much has been made - by Zippy and a few others - of the damaging effect a vote for a "medical cannibal" inflicts on the soul of the person casting it. Not much has likewise been made of this effect on the soul of someone who consents to be the running mate of said cannibal. Being so near to him, her material cooperation can hardly be described as "remote."
Thus my question remains: what is Sarah Palin doing on this ticket? If she believes what we suspect her of, and if she is a woman of integrity, there is only one thing she can do: demand that her name be removed from the ad's banner at the same time as she tenders her resignation, to be rescinded only on the condition that John McCain gets knocked off his ass on the road to the White House. It's a Romneyesque epiphany, she should say, or nothing.
4 comments:
Even just demanding her name be taken off the ad would be an excellent start--for her own sake.
The truth is, people influence one another even in less formal situations and ways. She's been traveling with John and Cindy for weeks. They've been snuggling her kids, being her friends, being the means by which she has been given a meteor-like rise in the public eye. That's all heady stuff. Incredibly flattering and liable to make one feel that these are great people. You can't travel around in a bus with somebody being nice to you, who is your running mate, while maintaining much of a distance.
This all reminds me of the early days of the campaign, when everyone thought Giuliani was the presumptive nominee, and so-called conservatives started tripping over their tongues trying to justify voting for him. That's when I wrote that email to AmSpec saying that I'm tired of compromising. Let Giuliani compromise so that I don't have to. Now, it's McCain's turn.
I'm forswearing politics for the time being, which was what I said I'd do some posts ago and didn't live up to it. The more I linger on the subject, the more it disgusts. But I wish Mrs. Palin well. I really do think she's a good woman. She just doesn't seem to realize what bad company she keeps.
There is this odd idea that picking Palin as his running mate somehow _was_ McCain's compromise. That's nonsense, of course. Y'know, we were looking for some changes in _positions_ on his part. At least, I wasn't. I didn't expect them and wouldn't have trusted them. But that's where it would have to start as far as reaching out to the conservative base. Not just picking a running mate all by itself.
I think I'll go back to taking movies and making slideshows.
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