Laura Bush on Michael J. Fox: ‘It’s Always Easy To Manipulate People’s Feelings’

[sabra]

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/31/laura-bush-michael-j-fox/

Laura Bush on Michael J. Fox: ‘It’s Always Easy To Manipulate People’s Feelings’

In an interview on C-Span, First Lady Laura Bush was asked about Michael J Fox’s advocacy for candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. Mrs. Bush responded that it was wrong for Fox and others to suggest that increased support for embryonic stem cell research could lead to cures for Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

She concluded with a thinly veiled critique of Fox: “It’s always easy to manipulate people’s feelings, especially when you are talking about diseases that are so difficult.” Watch it:


Transcript:

Q: One of the issues that’s come up. Michael J. Fox. The whole issue of stem cell research. Your reaction to the events of the past week.

LAURA BUSH: Well, I don’t have any idea about any of those. I mean, I’ve watch on television just like you have. But the fact is President Bush is the only president that authorized funding for stem cell research. And, um, you know, it’s an issue that it’s easy to try to manipulate people’s feelings about and I understand that. My dad died of Alzheimer’s. You know, there’ s nothing I’d like more than to think there was a cure for Alzheimer’s. Especially before I get to be the age he is, but knowing also how he suffered. It’s always easy to manipulate people’s feelings, especially when you are talking about diseases that are so difficult.

[Supersedeas]

1. but trotting out Snowflake Babies at a WhiteHouse veto ceremony is A-OK

[yellowcanine]

14. You nailed it. Hypocrisy squared.

[librechik]

20. Terri Schiavo videos weren't manipulative AT ALL

and terror alerts? Those certainly weren't called to terrify people into complying with Bush, heavens no!


how can they say this with straight faces? Oh, I know, Ambien.

[Guitarman]

24. The Compasionate Conservatives milked Schiavo for everything that they could.

Hypocritical shitbags make me want to puke.

[MontanaMaven]

22. She should know. She is part of this mass manipulation.

Let's scare people with:
Scary Mexicans
Scary gay agenda
Scary bloggers
Scary big black men taking your women folk
Scary big Muslims taking your women folk
Scary big gay men....um...coming in the dead of night and redecorating your house.
BOO!

[Kber]

38. or 9/11 families?

[AlCzervik]

2. classy.

[indepat]

21. Ah, the humanity of it all, the genuine compassion shown

[kstewart33]

3. My, what a classy thing to say.

No further comment is needed. What character. What strength. What compassion.

Not.

[meegbear]

4. You mean like when someone invokes "9/11" in their speeches?

[JI7]

47. yup

9/11, terra, terra terra.

[Nickster]

5. Oh yes Pickles. Heaven knows that giving people false hope that scientific

research might actually lead to some medical breakthroughs is just tragic. I mean really, what happens if we promote scientific research and nothing happens?? Then what? Then will you believe that science will only let us down in the end?

They should all know better and just pray real real hard. After all, we all know that science is just hooey!

:sarcasm:

[KittyWampus]

6. Like the hatemongering GOP trying to ban Gay Marriage

[Dirty Hippie]

7. "President Bush is the only president that authorized funding for stem cell research"

Did Clinton deny funding for stem sell research?

Was it an issue prior to 2000?

I keep hearing "Bush is the only one blah blah blah".

[Beelzebud]

11. It's a new technology...

[riderinthestorm]

8. That's an incredible admission for her to make

isn't there some Nazi quote by the propaganda minister about manipulating the people?

Fact is, most people have a pretty good bullshit meter, yet the rethugs have made manipulating the populaces' "feelings" into an art form.

Micheal J. Fox hit a nerve because people recognize that what's going on with him is real (not manipulative), and what he did was definitely not easy, that's why it was so incredibly powerful.

If there's any karmic justice in this world, Laura will get Alzheimer's. And soon.

[Beelzebud]

9. Laura and her husband the masters of manipulation. They would know.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[maxsolomon]

42. i don't think barely competent qualifies them as 'masters'

their propaganda is clumsily executed, but the key is THEY NEVER GO OFF MESSAGE. it works on a percentage of the population, it infuriates another (DU) into apoplexy, it muddies the waters for a larger portion so they decide "both parties are just as bad".

this is the standard reaction for Pickles & the Pretzeldunce: "its just politics". implied is "therefore i don't have to address the merits of the argument".

[gauguin57]

10. Laura, you and your hubby need to sit down and shut up.

Either get yourself some actual-factual information or shut the eff up.

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. Laura proves that she's a cold and heartless shell

who poses has a human.

[Penndems]

15. "It’s Always Easy To Manipulate People’s Feelings"

She ought to know. Laura, her husband and his cabal have been doing it for going on six years.

[tanyev]

16. They are miffed that someone with a genuine appeal to people's

feelings is upstaging them.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

17. You know something I'm beginning to loathe this woman as much as

I loathe her husband, her father-in-law and her mother-in-law.

“It’s always easy to manipulate people’s feelings, especially when you are talking about diseases that are so difficult.” This comment is especially rich coming from her.

Like her husband hasn't manipulated the American people for the past 5 years with his terra, terra, terra mantra all the time.

Laura, grow a brain, will ya. :puke: :puke: :puke:

[shah269]

25. its easy

“It’s always easy to manipulate people’s feelings, especially when you controll a 24 hour news network, a few dozen AM radio statoins and a few news papers, its easy! After all didn't my big old hubby convice all you dumb liberals that Saddam actually had WMD's! And that if you didn't vote for his war you were a total wus! yah! see its easy!”

[indepat]

28. To know know her is to love love her

[Annces]

18. If she wants to play politics, then she is fair game

What a fool.

[spanone]

19. Who gives one good shit what laura thinks? Not me.

[opihimoimoi]

23. What has she ever done or said to make us think she got Brains???

And that goes for her Bush....what has he accomplished? Nada, Nai, Puka, Zero, Zilch, Nothing, etc...

[Rosemary2205]

26. I think Laura is being falsely accused.

I'll grant you the words she picked are easily twisted but I don't agree she was slamming Fox as a manipulator. I'm even less good at choosing words that Laura Bush but I think she was meaning these awful diseases cause a lot of emotional pain for sufferers and their loved ones and people might be tempted to grasp at any straw as a cure all. In other words she doesn't think stem cells hold the cure all that some people think they do. I think it was a poor choice of words not so much slamming Fox. IMHO.

[Hugin]

32. It's not a matter of 'feeling' it's a matter of 'fact'...

There are many experts (who's careers depend on it) who say
this is the path to a cure for degenerative diseases, like Parkinson's.

[loyalsister]

39. Many factors have been ignored

Science is admittedly, and comfortably imperfect because that is a path to progress.
All medical treatments have only a percentage of success, yet is being marketed as something that will fix pretty much anyone with a disease.
Thus, "cure" is misleading. For example, would anyone recommend in retrospect that chemothereapy be marketed as a "cure" to voters who are voting to ammend a constitution?
I agree that the research holds great potential, but the reality of science demands more stark honesty than any political campaign can provide to voters.
The results of this research will probably be amazing, but sometimes the treatment will come with a condition like- 50%, 40%, 30%, chance of success and even sometimes not recommended because of contraindications.
I hate to agree with her on this, but I think that as with the many things in which politics uses emotions to forward an agenda, the scientists have done so here.

[Hugin]

40. I know of several people who have already been cured via SC treatments...

So... I don't agree.

Also, I don't recall any scientists forwarding the Stem Cell Research as a 'manipulative'
agenda.

[loyalsister]

43. well....

Anecdotal evidence is not representative of the true potential of what research will produce. Any scientist will tell you that.
I watched the whole thing up close. The scientists had a strong lobby, but the leg didn't do their jobs and pass a bill for this. The science community and medical community were jointly behind the petitions that got this on the ballot in the first place. Thus, they have supported a campaign that has been largely based on emotional responses to the tragedy of illness.
So, many scientists have helped pushed an agenda that broke with scientific tradition.
I believe they are sincere in their pursuit for discovery, but there is some self interest driving it as well.
I will vote for it to stop the fighting, but I have reservations because I think we have too many of these referendums and it sets a bad precedent to let the leg off the hook.

[Hugin]

45. The fact these treatments were used on actual patients means it's more than anecdotal.

These are FDA approved therapies.

Two of the people of whom I speak are Republicans who've received the treatments, but,
who are still against further Stem Cell Research.

Go figure.

Anyway, I disagree with your assertion it hasn't been proven to be a worthwhile
avenue of research.

[loyalsister]

46. Is that really what I said?

It seems like it isn't.
I said that scientific discovery is traditionally more honest than to use standard advertising tricks to "sell" ideas and potential.
The fact is that because it workd for one person does not mean that there is a guarantee that it will work for another.
There are variables that influence the potential for succes, and that results in variation of success when a treatment is actually applied to populations.
My assertion is that despite it's obvious value, it is dishonest to say that this research will produce treaments that will give every person who has a spinal cord injury an opportunity to walk again.
Using a "this works for a few it will work for all" is not a reasonable approach because there are unknown variables that can influence the actual application of the treatment.
Once treatments are applied across a large population the actual potential for likely results becomes more clear. Many times the potential for success is less promising than hoped for under particular conditions.
That is what they want to find out. I think it is definitely worthwhile to research and learn what they can do, but not to promise the results that they know may not materialize.

[skygazer]

37. You may be "less good at choosing words"

But you're not making statements to the media about important issues. Whatever she "meant" to say, what she DID say was cruel and mean-spirited. People in the public eye, making public statements need to be at least a little bit aware of what they're saying. And this nonsense of "clarifying" later - "oh, well, what I meant was..." is bullshit. :eyes:

[Hugin]

27. I wouldn't know Laura... I've never tried it.

:eyes:

Some people are speaking the truth... Not attempting to 'manipulate'.

[libnnc]

29. My Lord, they are something ain't they?

Un-freaking-real. Their arrogance is just astounding. I think it's a mental illness, actually.

[shadowknows69]

30. God I wish I could project my faults

as easily as these people do. It must be so peaceful living with no conscience at all.

[RedStateShame]

31. Translation: "Nancy Reagan's a bitch, and George and I wouldn't lift a finger...

to help her husband."

Didn't the Dictider have some longstanding grudge with Reagan? Not that we'd have a president to base policy on longstanding personal grudges or anything...oh, hi, Saddam...

[BurtWorm]

33. "All it takes is a little pill."

[FredScuttle]

34. "It's easy to manipulate people's feelings" - Laura Bush 2006

"It's hard to crash into your high school boyfriend and kill him fucking dead" - Laura Welch 1963

Laura Bush is a killer...pass it on.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp

And, by the way, about this "diseases are so difficult" bullshit....where would we be if Jonas Salk gave up on the fucking polio vaccine, bitch? That was "difficult" too...good thing for the kiddies there was so much hope then.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

35. Fuck you, Pickles

Keep living the fantasy life as spouse of the luckiest man in the world, you heartless bitch.

[LTR]

36. ‘It’s Always Easy To Manipulate People’s Feelings’

Yeah, like using fear to scare people into voting Republican.

Puh-leeze!

:eyes:

[tabasco]

41. Slime mold has more class than Laura the murderer. n/t

[boolean]

44. These people are fucking SHAMELESS!!!

Pot, meet kettle!

[republicansarewhores]

48. This bitch would know

EOM

RAW