I dont have a huge problem with the ad. Yeah they are not making distinctions but the line many of us Catholics have been using is that we support Stem Cell research too much how that ad portrays
Question. McCain never mention immigration reform at the convention. Do you doubt his integrity on that issue too? Of course not
What this ad has done is used exactly the same ambiguity the media has when they say discuss stem-cells without hardly referencing embryo from adult research. The media uses it as one lump and the ad does the same.
Though when I first saw the ad the other day it really pissed me off for it's lack of clarity and while I understand they are appealing to the center, it really undermines McCain as being pro-life if he is happy with an ad using this ambiguity. Especially since the first ad of his campaign that even references the life issue can be seen as being anti-life. He has yet to highlight how extreme Obama is on abortion, cloning, ESCR using created embryos, etc.
How easy is it for Sen. McCain to throw pro-lifers under the bus when it suits him?
The reason I view this as a campaign promise to aggressively fund ESCR is the promise of *change*. Doesn't the present administration fund research for adult stem cells? I'm fairly certain it does. The only thing that will change under McCain-Palin, therefore, is funding of ESCR.
What's important to note is what is omitted from McCain's website (i.e., a refusal to fund the destruction of embryos). The ambiguity is deliberate. Value charged terms such as "moral values" and "ethical principles" are designed to seduce the undiscerning reader into thinking that what McCain means by "moral" and "ethical" are what we mean by the terms. Don't be fooled: McCain's record on this matter is clear. This election is just a foretaste of what the collaboration between the Democrats and the Republicans to create a politics of death will be in the future.
I didn't have time before leaving for work to do a more complete compare/contrast of all the ailments mentioned in the advertisement (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, spinal cord damage, knee injuries, burns, etc.) but what I found upon curious was that on those I searched for, articles referenced specifically adult stem cell research.
I'd be curious if there were equivalent accomplishments in those areas with embryonic stem cells; if not, then it seems to me a question of why they're alluding to research specific to adult stem cells but maintaining the questionable ambiguity. It would be to McCain's benefit to emphasize the distinction, maintain his integrity to what he promises on his own campaign website and go after Obama / Biden on ESCR.
I bookmarked this about a month ago. I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff available online. But do keep in mind that the real research tends to be published in peer-review scientific journals, discovery of which tends to be a bit more arduous than the use of internet search engines.
Probably the easiest way of keeping track of stem cell research is through the website of the excellent medical (among other topics) writer Michael Fumento. Right now, the stem cell score card looks like this:
Therapies developed through adult stem cell research: dozens
Therapies developed through embryonic stem cell research: zero
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