A Stem Cell Flip-Flop From John W. McBush?

McClatchy Online, in a critique of a campaign ad by Barack Obama, tell us that they believe the Democratic presidential nominee went too far in stating that John W. McBush opposes stem cell research…

"Stem-cell research could unlock cures for diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's, too," says an Obama radio ad that's airing in selected states. "But John McCain has stood in the way. He's opposed stem-cell research. Picked a running mate who's against it. And he's running on a platform even more extreme than George Bush's on this vital research. John McCain doesn't understand that medical research benefiting millions shouldn't be held hostage by the political views of a few."

This Media Matters post points out that McBush has indeed voted for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, and he voted in favor of it on another occasion also. However, this runs counter to his relatively recent “pro-life” epiphany, something our media apparently doesn’t think is important enough to cover.

Because (as noted here)…

…National Right to Life Committee Executive Director David O’Steen said anti-abortion rights activists think they can turn McCain to their way of thinking on stem cells.

“We’d be hopeful that he’d leave [Bush’s] policy in place,” O’Steen said. What McCain might actually do, he cautioned, is “an open question.”

…

McCain’s campaign website does not state that he supports embryonic stem cell research. Instead, a statement titled “Addressing the Moral Concerns of Advanced Technology” touts “promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that does not involve the use of human embryos.”

Sound to me like Senator McBush was for stem cell research before he was against it (or, at least, favored it with lukewarm support at best, and, as noted here, he’s no stranger to flip flops on other issues).

So go ahead and flag Obama for not noting McBush’s two prior votes on funding embryonic stem cell research if you must. But given the thoroughly reality-challenged nature of the Arizona senator’s campaign (to say nothing of his running mate “Governor Hottie”), I believe this is a minor offense by comparison.

Update 1: And by the way, on the matter of Senator McBush, Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times tells us here today that…

Mr. McCain has at times been a target of over-the-top attacks from outside groups, such as a recent advertisement from the liberal group Brave New Pac, based in California, that suggested his time in a Vietnamese prison ill-affected his ability to be president; the Internet was filled with various unsubstantiated and discredited rumors about his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, immediately after he named her last month.

I don’t know what Palin rumors Rutenberg is referring to; he doesn’t substantiate that claim and I’m not going to do his homework for him. And I also don’t know how criticizing McBush’s mental competency because of his POW trauma can be considered an “over-the-top attack” when he permitted a “review” of his medical records under these ridiculous circumstances.

Update 2: Again concerning McBush, don't hold your breath waiting for this story to generate the same news coverage as a certain $400 haircut.