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Podesta, former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry, and Clinton political consultant Paul Begala "have all weighed in urging Kerry to be more proactive" in speaking about faith. We'll see.

The Washington Times reports that the Democrats for Life rally was attended by more than 100 people. Slate's Timothy Noah called it "a very small rally—in fact, the smallest rally I've witnessed in Boston so far this week." That's a bit surprising, given a recent Zogby poll that says 43 percent of Democrats believe that abortion "destroys a human life and is manslaughter." But not terribly surprising, since that 43 percent aren't likely to be activist enough to warrant a delegate seat. It's worth noting that this year's platform is far less tolerant of prolife Democrats than it was four years ago.

One of the only nonpoliticians invited to speak was Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt, who said the war for "women's rights" should be fought just as hard as the war on terrorism. But apparently the only pro-life speaker at the platform is Congressman Jim Langevin of Rhode Island. And he was chosen to speak in favor of embryonic stem-cell research and introduce Ron Reagan.

Reagan's speech was misleading, says John Kilner, president of The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. "History is littered with misguided attempts to relieve suffering by cutting ethical corners," he said. "All that Ron Reagan advocated can be achieved through adult stem-cell research. But he amazingly never mentioned adult stem cells. Instead, his misleading language covered up the fact that producing the cells he seeks requires cloning human beings and then destroying them. Cloning and killing are too high an ethical price to pay, particularly when there is another safe way to develop the same cures."

Also missing from Reagan's speech: an admission he made on MSNBC's Hardball earlier this month. "Alzheimer's is a disease, ironically, that probably won't be amenable to treatment through stem-cell therapies," he said.

What he did say was that religious and moral beliefs have no place in the stem-cell debate. While opponents of embryonic stem-cell research are "well-meaning and sincere," he said, "it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many. … We can choose between the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology."

Reagan made no biblical allusions for Sullivan to note.

Ron Reagan and stem cells:

• Before Democrats, Reagan urges stem cell research | "Come November 2nd, I urge you, please cast a vote for embryonic stem cell research," Reagan said (Reuters)
• Swerves on stem cells | Whatever one's opinion of Mr. Bush's record on stem cells, he has incontestably shown leadership on the issue (Editorial, The Washington Times)

Religion & politics:

• Both sides say court future up to voters | Judiciary watchers on both the left and the right agree that the power to appoint Supreme Court justices is likely to be the most far-reaching prize in this presidential campaign (The Boston Globe)

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July (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48