Here and there one can see Democratic paranoia that somehow, either Karl Rove will pull a rabbit out of a hat, or, more likely, Democrats will find some way to blow it themselves. Harold Ford crashing Bob Corkers press conference in Tennessee last week looks like an unforced error.
And then theres this ad in Missouri, with Michael J. Fox trying to lay a partisan guilt-trip on voters. Was this focus-grouped? Seems likely to backfire to me. I wonder what the NLT focus group thinks?
Wow. That ad was pathetic in every sense of the word. This will probably be successful since it takes a complex moral issue and entirely reduces it to a plea for personal succour. I hope you are right about the back-firing. Yet to be similarly reductive, Talents campaign must counter with something like, "How many unborn infants must die to rescue Michael?"
Everything the Democrats do like this is thoroughly focus grouped. Just because we find the advertisement distasteful and classless, doesnt mean a good chunk of the American electorate finds the ad powerful.
Anon may be right--thats why I asked for opinions--but Im not so sure we can count on the ad having been through a focus group. One of Dukakiss really bad ads in 1988 showed a smoke-filled room of supposed Bush political operatives talking about how to confuse the voters, but the ad was so confusing and oblique that it backfired. It had not been road-tested agianst a real audience. Political consultants and ad makers often use focus groups, but sometimes there isnt time or money to do it. Also, the consultants think highly of their own genius and dont want to have their work run through a focus group. Finally, a focus group can give a false reading of an ad like this: a group discussing an ad may come to a different reaction than individuals or couples watching it at home by themselves.
I was just listening to Mark Levin talking about Michael J. Foxs lies about Talent and Michael Steele. He said Steele was against stem cell research too. Of course thats a lie in both cases. Both candidates are against federal funding of embrionic stem cell research, not stem cell research per se. Levin pointed out that Fox claimed that Cardin was in favor of stem cell research. Ironically, Cardin is the only candidate to vote against stem cell research... adult stem cell research, that is. I know this is beside the point. The issue is whether the ad will affect voters, not whether its the truth.
Power Line points tothis counter ad, already out there.
And one other, beside the point thing Levin said: Fox takes medication to control the effects of his disease. According to Levin, Fox intentionally went off his meds for this ad just to make himself look more pathetic. Will the Missouri voters be manipulated by Democratic lies or persuaded by Republican truth?
I must ask this question because I dont know the answer. Are embryonic stem cells the ONLY hope for the possible CURES for diseases such as Parkinsons or Diabetes? Is this the only source available for researching these cures?
While I am strongly opposed to the idea of promoting the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, the possibility of a CURE arising from other sources of stem cells, not just a medication that reduces or controls the symptoms of a disease, is something that should be considered. My understanding is that stem cell research is NOT limited to embryonic stem cells. Howevr, if the only recurring debate in stem cell research is the use of aborted babies, when viable stem cells are likely available from other sources, then maybe we are being short sighted and insensitive.
Deb:
Democrats who favor abortion do not want progress to be made with any other types of stem cells. The placenta yields cells which have characteristics that are strikingly similar to embryonic stem cells in their ability to regenerate a wide variety of tissues.
Unlike embryonic stem cells, which are obtained only by destroying human embryos, these cells can be extracted from the same placentas that now are routinely discarded after birth.
The cells, called amniotic epithelial cells, potentially could be used to produce new liver cells to treat liver failure, or new pancreatic islet cells to cure diabetes and even new neurons to treat Michael J. Foxs Parkinsons disease.