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Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior National Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
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MURDER," HE WROTE...AND THEN ERASED
July 24, 2006 2:06 PM
Remember when White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president considered the destruction of a human embryo "murder"?
He just took it back.
"I overstepped my brief there," Snow said. "And I feel bad about it. I think there is concern. The president has said that he believes this is a destruction of human life." Snow said he would "go ahead and apologize for having overstated the president's position."
Snow then did the curious White House two-step on this issue that we've been discussing in this space, which is to then brag about how President Bush is the first one to fund research on these human embryos the destruction of which constitutes, if not murder, then the snuffing out "of human life."
"When it comes to stem cell research, this president was the first to allow the use of the embryonic stem cells lines and he has supported more than any other president in American history research into embryonic stem cell research," Snow said, now more on the White House's confusing official position in which it decries "the use of federal money that some people consider morally objectionable" and then also talks about how the President funds this "morally objectionable" research.
-- jt
July 24, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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I'm incredibly surprised the immediate follow-up question was not, "does that mean the president does NOT believe it is murder?"
Where I'm from, that's called getting a pass.
Posted by: Micah Rasmussen | Jul 25, 2006 11:25:47 AM
Snow is correct. This President was the first to authorize stem cell research. The issue of funding the research with taxpayer money as opposed to free market funding appears to be the reason he vetoed the bill. (Or is it the excuse).
I fail to see any double speak. Instead the position appears consistent and can be argued from a free market standpoint.
Now do we agree with his decision to not involve taxpayer money? That’s where the argument stands.
I found this article most enlightening. The potential is huge. Forbes covers it well. http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2006/07/21/stem-cell-research-cz_kd_0721stemcell.htm
Posted by: flyover | Jul 24, 2006 9:01:49 PM
Not only does "The Mirror Have Two Faces" (if I may borrow the title of a movie), but so does this administration when it comes to telling the truth about stem-cell research. Mr. Snow should be a little more forthcoming and honest in his political pronouncements, since the research with existing embryonic stem-cell lines predates this administration. In 2001, the President restricted federal funding of such research to the current handful of stem-cell lines and prohibited federal funding to be used for new lines. Mr. Bush did not "allow" the use of embryonic stem-cells in research any more than he "allowed" UN weapons inspectors sufficient time to validate WMD's in Iraq in 2003. Does this administration really think that people will believe an untruth the more it is repeated?
Posted by: chuck | Jul 24, 2006 3:14:30 PM
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