Michael J. Fox & Stem Cell Research

Before I start, let me say I love Michael J. Fox. Some of my fondest memories revolve around his body of work, namely, coming home after school to watch Family Ties, and I think some of the most creative movies ever made have been his Back to the Future trilogy.

Also, I am not cold-hearted when it comes to Parkinson's disease. It is a horrifying illness, and I pray for a cure. A very good friend of mine has it, and it is painful watching him try to do the simplest things. I have deep compassion for those with this disease.

With that being said, if you’ve watched or listened to his political ad (click here if you haven’t), please notice first that the benign phrase "stem cell research" is a euphemism for the morally-charged "embryonic stem cell research." This is the same tactic used in another political ad here in California for Jerry Brown.

No one has a moral problem with stem cell research when it’s performed on adults. And, regardless of the moral issues, if you click here or on the title of this post above, you’ll see that it’s only adult stem cell research that is having any scientifically documentable benefits.

The point: Regardless of Mr. Fox's disease, it’s dishonest to accuse people of being against “stem cell research” while leaving out the moral issue regarding that research, namely, killing embryos to harvest their stem cells.

Because the ad's dishonest, it's manipulative too. It makes Democrats look caring and compassionate as they are on the side of science and Parkinson patients when in fact, the science shows ESCR won't help them.

As dishonest and manipulative, the ad ends up being both spiteful, because it uses a sick man to make Republicans look heartless for the benefit of votes, and wicked, because it promises millions of suffering people the fool’s gold of ESCR.