OxBlog

# Posted 11:19 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

SIMPLE IRONY OR POETIC JUSTICE? With the 40th president's body still warm, both the WaPo and NYT indulged their liberal appetites for irony by demanding that the 43rd president honor his predecessor's memory by doing something anathema to numerous conservatives: lifting restrictions on stem cell research.

But wait -- the irony goes deeper. According to this WaPo article -- published the day before the WaPo editorial -- the relationship between stem cell research and fighting Alzheimer's is tenuous at best. However, that is the last thing that stem cell researchers want to admit, since they benefit from the public confusion generated by Nancy Reagan's advocacy for the cause.

But wait -- the irony goes deeper than that. As both candidate and president, Reagan persuaded himself of patent untruths in order to promote conservative causes. What is the source of air pollution? Trees! Are there right-wing death squads in El Salvador? No, just Communists in disguise. Did I honor my promise not to trade arms for hostages? "My heart and my best intentions still tell me that is true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not."

So, if the First Lady and the liberal media are now Reagan's good name to popularize bad science, is that ironic? Perhaps. But I'd prefer to call it poetic justice.

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