He May Have The Name, But He Lacks The Principles

Less than two months after the death of the most popular GOP president since. . . well, ever, Ron Reagan will tarnish his father's memory by addressing the Democrat Convention in Boston. The younger Reagan will call for the resumption of fetal stem-cell research.

"The conservative right has a rather simplistic way of characterizing it as baby killing. We're not talking about fingers and toes and brains. This is a mass of a couple hundred undifferentiated cells."

He also indicated he will support Kerry or "any viable candidate who can defeat Bush."

From a journalistic standpoint, there are two items of note in the last sentence. The first is the identification of Michael Reagan, the late president's oldest son, as an evangelical despite the fact that Ron Reagan's religious leanings are nowhere mentioned in the article. The second is a bald-faced lie about Michael Reagan's position on stem-cell research. As he points out in his article, "I'm With My Dad on Stem Cell Research," Michael Reagan supports research on adult stem-cells, based upon the best available scientific research on both types of research. And he also quotes his father on the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception:

"My administration is dedicated to the preservation of America as a free land and there is no cause more important for preserving that freedom than affirming the transcendent right to life of all human beings, the right without which no other rights have any meaning."

Perhaps Ron should honor his father by heeding his words.