Bush decision on stem cell study draws mixed response

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

SAN FRANCISCO, AUG. 12. From coast to coast, the President, Mr. George W. Bush is hearing about his decision to partially fund stem cell research. And it has been along expected lines with Democrats and hard core Conservatives taking their ire out against the President.

Politically, Mr. Bush was not naive about the implications of his decision. Agonising as it may have been, it was not merely confined to the scientific or moral aspects of his decision. There was a heavy political component as well. For a person who is actively courting the 44 million Catholic votes for 2004, Mr. Bush had also to be concerned about the die-hard social conservatives within the party. Democrats wasted no time in going after the President, arguing that his so-called compassion line stopped much short of what should have been done. The point was that the so-called compassion was meant to appease the hard right among the social conservatives.

Catholic and other Christian groups also wasted no time in criticising the President - that in the funding for stem cell research on an existing 60 ``lines'', Mr. Bush has discarded the campaign promise of not allowing Federal tax money for the ``destruction of live human embryos''. The president of the Family Research Council, Mr. Ken Connor, said, ``The President was absolutely unequivocal in the campaign. It is not OK to say we'll limit the number of embryo human beings we kill in order to cure others''. The consequence of breaking a campaign pledge will be ``devastating'', said to Mr. Connor.

Some Democrats, for reasons of science or political purposes, were making the point that the President should fully fund stem cell research. The strategy on the part of Mr. Bush's opponents was to up the ante to the point where he could be painted as an extremist rightist should he come out against any funding at all.

But it was clear from the beginning that Mr. Bush was not going to fall for this even if it meant getting on the wrong side of the social conservatives in the Grand Old Party. But Mr. Bush had key supporters as well - for instance, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, wife of the former President, Mr. Ronald Reagan, now down with Alzheimers.

One of the things stressed by Mr. Bush was that stem cell research could prove beneficial to treat terrible diseases like juvenile diabetes, Alzheimers and spinal cord injuries.

Mr. Bush has expectedly taken the middle road in a controversial decision and the political fallouts are too early to tell for 2004. For everyone who labels him a rightwing social extremist, there will be somebody who will back him for the partial funding. And this backing will come from Republicans and Democrats.

To the Democrats, the issue of stem cell research is to be added to the list on the domestic agenda that will be pursued vigorously after the August recess. The White House may say that the President's first six months in office have seen many accomplishments, but Democrats certainly do not see it that way.

If the Democrats have been sharply critical of the manner in which the Republican administration has taken on crucial domestic issues, it has not been a different story when it comes to foreign policy. Senior Democratic leaders such as Mr. Richard Gephardt, the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives and Mr. Tom Daschle, the Senate Majority leader, have lashed out at America's track record on the multilateral front in the last six months of the Bush administration.

On the one hand, the argument can be made that the Democratic leadership is trying to home in on the foreign policy of the Bush administration, especially as it relates to such issues as environment, missile defence and the dangers of abandoning America's leadership role in world politics. Yet, on the other hand, the criticism of Mr. Gephardt and Mr. Daschle need not be taken together - both are possible candidates for the presidential election of 2004.

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