 |
 |
(Michael J.)Fox Approach One To Win By Ellis Henican October 8, 2004 The actor Michael J. Fox stands in front of a flat, black background. His demeanor is calm but serious. He's thinner than you probably remember him from TV. He looks straight to camera and speaks. "Stem-cell research has the promise of finding cures for illness - from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to diabetes. John Kerry strongly supports stem-cell research. George Bush is putting limits on it." Fox doesn't mention that he has Parkinson's disease, a worsening brain disorder that causes terrible tremors and can cripple a patient's bodily control. He doesn't have to mention it. People know already. "Stem-cell research can help millions of Americans whose lives have been touched by devastating illnesses," Fox continues. "George Bush says we can wait. I say lives are at stake, and it's time for leadership. That's why I support John Kerry for president." It's the latest 30-second TV ad from the Kerry campaign, and it's a real heart-tugger. The ad won't get much air in blowout states like New York. But it will run over and over again in squeakers like Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. The amazing promise of stem-cell research - and Bush's religious objections to it - are a perfect issue for Kerry to carry into St. Louis for tonight's big town-hall debate. Personal. Direct. Intimately connected to the real-life concerns of families everywhere. An issue like that can drive a wedge between George W. Bush and his party's conservative base. Honestly, how can any decent person look into Michael Fox's eyes and say, "No, we won't support the research that could cure your terrible disease"? Well, Bush almost has to. Otherwise, he alienates conservative Catholics and Christian fundamentalists. Without them, it's Kerry-time come Jan. 20! The agenda for tonight says "domestic issues." This is natural Democratic turf. This gives Kerry the chance to clamp down firmly on strong human issues, the kinds that touch real people's lives. The rising cost of health insurance. The million jobs that have disappeared under Bush. Tax breaks that have gone overwhelmingly to the very rich. Stem cells. And Iraq. Yes, Iraq is foreign, not domestic. But whatever the official agenda says, Iraq will be impossible to ignore tonight. Just look at the news all week. On Monday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he'd seen no "strong, hard evidence" that linked Iraq to al-Qaida. Hmmm ... On Tuesday, the former American overlord in Iraq was quoted admitting the obvious. The United States "never had enough troops on the ground," Paul Bremer said. Uh-oh. On Wednesday, Charles Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons hunter, said Bush was "almost completely wrong" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, contradicting the basic justification for Bush's war in Iraq. Not good. Bush ducked the issue on Wednesday, even as he turned up his heated attacks on Kerry. Yesterday though, the president had to fold, dropping once and for all the single, largest reason he took us to war. "Iraq did not have the weapons that our intelligence believed were there," the president said. Not that he took his own lesson to heart. He was still trying to slough the blame away from himself and onto the CIA. And he was still flailing at Saddam's imaginary weaponry. "He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction, and he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies," Bush said. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - but didn't. Pretty lame reason to go to war. He'd better not try that kind of answer again tonight. The momentum has obviously been going John Kerry's direction since last week's debate, when the Democrat came out of that encounter looking downright presidential. The official president was left looking like a petulant, confused little boy. A repeat of that will end the race tonight. But I'm not counting on that to happen. No one should. Bush is not that poor a performer. Kerry is not that good. Tonight's town-hall meeting is probably Bush's best natural format. He's done dozens of these town halls. It plays to his folksy side. But if Kerry soars again, it's over right there. And he can, if he'll do what Michael J. Fox just did on his behalf. He has to look into the camera. He has to touch a real human nerve. He has to talk from the heart. Email: [log in to unmask] SOURCE: New York Newsday, NY http://tinyurl.com/6busn * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn