Edwards - the paralyzed will walk

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

iota

War Child
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
848
Location
the rugged southwest
Alright, no one's bringing this gem up from 2 days ago. Edwards was shamelessly politicizing the death of Reeves and the following sentence actually came out of his mouth (re: stem cell research):

"When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeves will get out of their wheel chairs and walk."

This is asinine.
How can this possibly be spun into NOT being not only ridiculous, but cruel? Anybody care to defend Edwards?
 
People like Christopher Reeves will walk?

My goodness Kerry is Jesus and he will raise the dead, well hallelujah and lord be praised!
 
Last edited:
if you watched the debate on friday (before his death) kerry mentioned christopher reeve and HIS hopes that he will walk again. he also mentioned that he was a friend, so i'm sure edwards is at least an aquaintance... there is nothing asanine about a friend sharing the hopes of a friend. obviously a lot of people believe in stem cell research...and those who disagree are coming from a non-scientific authority. maybe it will help regenerate damaged tissue...maybe it won't...but clearly some people think it will and until it is proven wrong i don't think it's right to crush people's hopes. science has advanced society more than anything else in history. let it be...
 
Of course it won't happen within the next 4 years...but come on people. We know he didn't literally mean that Kerry will heal cripples.

He meant that Kerry will start the process of stem cell research. Which is more than we can say for Bush.
 
Alright. Cite the scientific SOURCE that PROVES that stem-cell research will yield a solution to paralysis.

Edwards wasn't speaking in metaphor or hyperbole. It was a campaign promise the way he worded it. Not "when Kerry is president we will use stem cell research to SEE if it will yield a cure to people afflicted with Reeve's condition" but "people like Reeves will get out of their wheelchairs and walk."

These people will say any ridiculous thing that pops in their heads if they think they can get voters emotional.
 
jer2911 said:
What do you expect? Lawyers will say anything..............

Hey, I take offense to that, my dad is a lawyer!

I agree with DaveC, though it wasn't the most genius thing to say, of course he's going to dramatize to make a point. And compared to all the completely ignorant things Bush has said, this is nothing.
 
iota said:
Alright. Cite the scientific SOURCE that PROVES that stem-cell research will yield a solution to paralysis.

Don't be fucking dense. It's impossible to "PROVE" anything without first doing the scientific tests. Bush has not allowed these scientific tests. That's impossible to prove anything without tests. Use some common sense, you obviously know nothing about science so giving you even a scientific source would mean jack shit to you.

Edwards wasn't speaking in metaphor or hyperbole. It was a campaign promise the way he worded it. Not "when Kerry is president we will use stem cell research to SEE if it will yield a cure to people afflicted with Reeve's condition" but "people like Reeves will get out of their wheelchairs and walk."

These people will say any ridiculous thing that pops in their heads if they think they can get voters emotional. [/B]

Ever hear of an exaggeration??
 
If you don't think that stem cell research can yield any benefits before investigation then that is flawed. I am just laughing at a politician making a stupid comment, lol raise the dead!
 
I'm not saying it won't yield benefits. But don't promise people in wheelchairs will walk when Kerry is president. That's cruel and stupid.

My only point is this: if Bush said something like that he would be lambasted. This gets no attention. Interesting.
 
DaveC said:


Don't be fucking dense. It's impossible to "PROVE" anything without first doing the scientific tests. Bush has not allowed these scientific tests. That's impossible to prove anything without tests. Use some common sense, you obviously know nothing about science so giving you even a scientific source would mean jack shit to you.

Ever hear of an exaggeration??


My point is that Edwards spoke of it as being FACT. So anybody defending his pathetic, desperate hail-mary blunder would have to PROVE that it was scientific fact. If you want to call me names in order to defend this idiotic rhetoric, and it makes you feel good, go right ahead. But for a candidate to say something with this level of ineptitude, this close to election reeks of desperation.
 
Come on now. Everyone should know by now to be careful about what you take at face-value from any presidential or vice-presidential candidate. He was obviously going a little overboard, making an exaggeration, to make a point. And while perhaps he shouldn't have referenced the late Reeves, who btw was a great man, if his exaggeration brings more attention and more public awareness to the need for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, then more power to him.
 
namkcuR said:
Come on now. Everyone should know by now to be careful about what you take at face-value from any presidential or vice-presidential candidate. He was obviously going a little overboard, making an exaggeration, to make a point. And while perhaps he shouldn't have referenced the late Reeves, who btw was a great man, if his exaggeration brings more attention and more public awareness to the need for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, then more power to him.

:up:
 
Well, they politicized a war for political gain...they'll won't even let the dust rest on Reeve's grave before they start politicizing that too.

:::desperate:::
 
iota said:
Well, they politicized a war for political gain...they'll won't even let the dust rest on Reeve's grave before they start politicizing that too.

:::desperate:::

It's perfectly legitimate of the Dems to take a tragedy and offer a lesson from it, just like the GOP did with the 9/11 tragedy during their convention in New York. You might be outraged, but that's only because you know that what Edwards had said can be damaging to Bush's stance on embryonic stem cell research.

I'm sure Reeves would be glad to know that he's become a martyr for the cause.
 
First of all its Christopher 'Reeve', without an 'S' at the end. It may sound picky, but not getting his name right could be an indication as to how much his tragedy really touched you as a person. You can be sure that Edwards and Kerry got it right because I do actually believe that it something that they feel strongly, dare I say 'passionate' about.

Now Kerry and Reeve do go back, and they were friends, and Kerry has always been for the cause of Stem Cell Research, something that Reeve always, for obvious reasons, felt very strongly and passionate about. Reeve died the other day, as you all know - God forbid that an acquaintance (or even if he didn't know him, he is still the running mate of someone who was a good friend to the deceased) should make an exaggeration made out of a heart-felt assertion. Presidents have delievered more impossible promises in more hyperbolic speeches for smaller, pettier causes. Politicians exaggerate and thats the truth, if there is one thing I have never criticised Bush for is his exaggerations (though I probably have berated him too much for his total assault on the English language), and I don't find anything wrong with Edwards speaking passionately about something he feels passionate about.

Will the paralysed walk if Kerry gets elected? Probably not, but you can bet that Kerry will do everything within his power to get as close to that as scientifically possible, and thats all you can ever ask from a leader.

Oh, and A_Wanderer, I strongly suspect that Nihilism may be the only movement or cause that does not possess martyrs in its historic corridors.

Ant.
 
It's an election year. Everything gets politicized, unfortunately. I think it's OK if a politicians wants to say he's sorry an actor or whoever died, but it's not so cool when they actually try to exploit the unfortunate situation to get votes.
 
jer2911 said:
What do you expect? Lawyers will say anything..............

:angry:







OK, its true.




This is yet another sad twist to the campaign. Stem cells have become the surrogate front for the life/choice debate. And as has been pointed out, it is being done with little or no knowledge of how the research is actually done and who pays for it.
 
Anthony said:
First of all its Christopher 'Reeve', without an 'S' at the end. It may sound picky, but not getting his name right could be an indication as to how much his tragedy really touched you as a person.
Ant.

He played Superman and starred in the ultimate chick flick "Somewhere in Time"...other than that...not much of a notable career - then became a lobbyist. As a person, he really didn't affect me. This thread is more about a misleading and cruel statement by Edwards, not Reeve as a person.
 
DaveC said:


Hey, I thought we were talking about the Kerry/Edwards campaign here. :wink:

Whoops...are we?

Then let me clarify: they Monday-morning quarterbacked the war they initially supported until Howard Dean started getting successful with the anti-war stance....no, "politicized" works just as well. ;)
 
Perhaps Edwards should've said people "could" walk again...

I think it's ok to make these kinds of statements if they're meant to be visionary and if you're committed to the cause. Just like JFK did with landing Americans on the moon before the end of the '60s. Gives everyone a goal to shoot for...it's hope building.

I don't know...Bush talks about getting rid of evil in the world...uses lots of Biblical and evangelical language. Don't people think that a little too much?
 
Back
Top Bottom