Free Republic

William Saletan of Slate, in a recent article called “For the Benefit of Others,” sees a contradiction in President Bush’s promise to veto embryonic stem-cell research and his support of the death penalty. The logic goes like this: If the only justification for the death penalty is to “save lives,” as Bush has apparently stated many times, then why isn’t embryonic stem-cell research justified by the same rule? Or reverse that, as Saletan has done: How can Bush not support stem-cell research, which purportedly save lives, but turn right around and support the death penalty, which is claimed to have...

Slate.com is presently running a series, called ''Who's Winning, Who's Losing, and Why'' that includes an ongoing dialogue, since the conclusion of the presidential election, concerning the reasons the Democrats failed in this most recent and other elections. The header includes a review of recent editions by such writers and thinkers as Chris Suellentrop, William Saletan, and Timothy Noah who, for their parts, blame the lack of Democratic success on Kerry's ''too nuanced and technocratic'' approach (Suellentrop); on a failure to base campaigns on ''values and moral responsibility'' like Bill Clinton did (wow!) (Saletan); or the lack of the right...