Bush Is Happy to Leave Some Children Behind

Legislation-by-anecdote is a dangerous enterprise. If you want to misunderstand stem cells, consult President George W. Bush's account of "snowflake babies,'' born from unused embryos at in-vitro fertilization clinics.

For every tale of a deadbeat dad with five kids on public assistance, there are thousands of fathers working three jobs to feed a family. For every Terri Schiavo, there are millions of families bearing the burden of life-and-death choices without being second-guessed on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Now comes Graeme Frost, the blond, 12-year-old boy with brain injuries from an automobile accident. He was put forward by the Democrats to persuade Republicans to override the president's veto of the bill expanding the State Children's Health-Insurance Program, called Schip.

Graeme's story put the Republicans in a Swift-boating frenzy. We hadn't seen anything like it since 2004, when Senator John Kerry, with his multiple medals for bravery in Vietnam, ended up being unfavorably compared to a president who kept Texas safe from invasion by Oklahoma while serving weekends in the National Guard.

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Comments

[thicky]

i read and hear the defenders of these sordid swiftboat-style attacks on schip and the children they save complaining about how the critics paint them unfairly as cruel and immoral.

i ask these defenders of the indefensible: what civilized moral system, anywhere in the world, deems it good and right to ignore our sick and needy children? what religious moral code teaches us to discard our weakest and most sickly children by the wayside?

oh wait, there is that one religion that is all about selfishness, all about ME; isn't it the one whose leader has horns and cloven feet?

[desertdweller]

Jeeeeeeesus loves the little children.........

[Dandy12]

I have two daughters (13 & 14)and they are in many respects at different ends of the intellectual spectrum. In my conferences with my youngest daughter's teachers (she has some special ed. difficulties in speech & language), I term the educational process/priorities as "leaving every other child behind". I'm speaking from the perspective of being a former educator (nearly earning a MA degree). Now, they have added insult to injury with the children's health care issue. This administration has taken no action to contain healthcare costs, and sides with/ensures the well being of the corporate profiteers! Middle class America will not thank you in '08!

[babyboomerorig]

This bunch is amazing! Outlaw abortion, but don't take care of the babies after birth.

Doesn't TX have a law that only allows hospitals to take care of sick newborns for just so long, then disconnect everything and let them die?

They treat the disabled and elderly the same way. HMOs can't wait to deny a claim or not allow a doctor to test or treat some diseases. My daughter says that they have a big drum and take a name out to say no to.

Remember 25 years ago when all we had to do was get the test or surgery, then the insurance companies paid? We could even stay in the hospital after surgery for a few days to start recouperation and the nurses could keep an eye out for infections, etc. Ah, yes, the good old days when health was more important than the bottom line.