I don’t think the White House could have chosen a better spokesperson. Tony Snow is fiercely accurate and unafraid to take on media criticism. In a recent exchange with one reporter, Snow defended President Bush by stating:

“There’s quite often a regrettable implication that in opposing [embryonic] stem cell research — which, in the President’s view, involves the taking of a human life — that he shut off stem cell research. As a matter of fact, we’ve spent unprecedented amounts of money looking at all forms of stem cell research…Furthermore, the President has not outlawed, as often as seemed to be alleged — he’s not outlawed embryonic stem cell research. States have set aside money for doing it. Individuals continue to provide venture capital for it. But the President believes that American taxpayers should not have to make the fateful decision of asking themselves, does this come at the price of a human life.”

This statement is spot on. Opponents of the President’s stem cell policy often inaccurately remark that he has shut the door on embryonic stem cell research, eventhough he is the first president to allow federal funding for any ESC research. One could argue that he has actually opened the door to ESC research in the United States. I really don’t know how many times we have to repeat this before it starts to sink in. Of course, the sad fact is that it will never sink in because admitting it would weaken critics’ claim that the President as anti-science and anti-stem cell research. When pressed whether the Administration would listen to the words of the opposition regarding stem cell research, Mr. Snow fairly fired back, “Yes. And will the opposition listen to us? That’s also the question.” Bravo!