August 10, 2004
AND SHE KNOWS WHAT CHILI IS:
First Lady Defends Limits on Stem Cell Research: Venturing into one of the more contentious issues of the campaign, Laura Bush defended the limits her husband has imposed on embryonic stem cell research. (RANDY KENNEDY, 8/10/04, NY Times)
Venturing forcefully into one of the more contentious issues of the campaign, Laura Bush on Monday defended the limits her husband had imposed on embryonic stem cell research and criticized those who suggested that the research could lead quickly to cures for Alzheimer's and other diseases."I hope that stem cell research will yield cures and therapies for a myriad of illnesses," Mrs. Bush told an audience about 300 supporters, many of them doctors and nurses, at a campaign event in Langhorne, Pa. "But I know that embryonic stem cell research is very preliminary and the implication that cures for Alzheimer's are around the corner is just not right, and it's really not fair to the people who are watching a loved one suffer from this disease."
The remarks were a thinly veiled reference to comments by Ron Reagan, who suggested loosening restrictions on the research in a speech at the Democratic National Convention, just six weeks after the death of his father, former President Ronald Reagan, who had Alzheimer's.
Mrs. Bush pointed out that she, too, lost her father to Alzheimer's. While she has responded publicly to questions about the issue, it was the first time she had included stem cell research in the speeches she is giving to try to help buoy the president's campaign, especially among undecided female voters. [...]
[T]he remarks about stem cell research signaled that Mrs. Bush - who many years ago jokingly secured a promise from her husband that he would never make her give a political speech - is taking a larger and more assertive role in the president's campaign.
How about a wives debate? Posted by Orrin Judd at August 10, 2004 2:30 PM
Perfect! I'd watch it even if it were on Pay-Per-View.
Posted by: John Resnick at August 10, 2004 4:09 PMTerry don't know from Chili, but Laura, who is real Texas, knows that the denatured "Cincinnati" "chili" that Wendy's purveys does not meet the Texas reinhietsgebotsrects for a bowl of red. Now the good Lord knows that I love Wendy's. I ate at the first one, which opened up across the street from my fathers office, before it was a chain. And their burgers are far superior to other fast food burgers. But that is not really chili.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at August 10, 2004 4:33 PMThe low-key, always gracious, deliberately self-effacing Laura Bush is the most impressive First Lady since Dolly Madison -- and a true measure of the stature of the man who won her heart.
Teresa Heinz Kerry is just as much a measure of her husband's stature...but hey! How dare we to question his, uh, ah, er, um...oh, never mind.
Robert:
That's not Cincinnati Chili. For one thing it has beans. No true Cincinnatian eats Chili with beans. Also, no cinnemon or cocoa in the mix. It's bad Texas chili not a copy of Skyline.
Posted by: Jeff at August 10, 2004 5:13 PMI'd be waiting to see if Teresawill answer that "If you could be an animal, what kind would you be?" question again. If it's anything like her enthusiastic reply back in June, the debate would be livlier than anything the actual candidates or their runing mates could come up with.
Posted by: John at August 10, 2004 6:14 PMJeff: I am Columbus not Cincinnati. I did not say the Wendy's was true Cincinnati chili. I said it was denatured. The sauce is more Cincinnati than Texas, having almost no spice at all, certainly no chili. AFAIK, the beans are not definitive in Texas chili, but it can't be chili without chilis, and Wendy's seems to my palate to fail that essential test.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at August 10, 2004 9:28 PMThe point of Wendy's chili is not culinary excellence.
It's designed to take a waste product, (dried-out, overcooked meat patties), and, with minimal work and investment, convert them into a profit.
By that standard, it's a spectacular success.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at August 11, 2004 10:08 PMIf the wives debate now, does that mean we will see Bill again in 2008?
Posted by: jim hamlen at August 12, 2004 12:30 AM