Stem Cell Ads.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Correct me if I'm wrong centaur, but if he does NOT take his medicine he can actually lock up where it would be almost impossible to speak or move. Especially not quickly. If he in fact chose to not take his medicine while speaking in front of a group he risks a more dramatic demonstration of the effects of Parkinsons because he'll just stop functioning. So if he WAS moving, it's the medicines.

As far as I know you're correct (anyone with more knowledge feel free to correct me). From what I've read if he wasn't taking medication his body would essentially freeze. The medication gives him the ability to move but the side effect is that it also causes tremors when the muscles are at rest.

I think Rush Limbaugh is free to comment on any political ad, but it probably didn't do much for his reputation to comment on this one. Making fun of "the man" (or any political figure) is usually accepted but it's not as acceptable to criticize people who are seen as sick or disabled. His goal was probably to put a question in the back of the minds of like minded people who already are opposed to or mildly opposed to stem cell research. I'm sure he accomplished that goal even after he apologized for his criticisms. Political campaigning is what it is....not much surprises me about it these days.

[Drolefille]

There's an article on slate.com (i may try to find a linky) that says that Rush just plays stupid. He knows better, but this is how he gets listeners and press coverage.

[shinerbock]

Its a celebrity endorsement which basically says that McCaskill cares about people like me, but Talent doesn't. It ignores central issues in the debate over stem cell research. Like I said, its all fair in politics, but Fox put himself out there, so he's fair game as well. Of course, Rush's comments were pretty stupid, but the underlying idea that he's using public sentiment regarding his illness to help/harm certain candidates is not without merit.