The Wall Street Journal recently printed an editorial urging the "the need for a national discussion on the care of the severely disabled and, inevitably, on the 'right to die.'"

Of course, I read nothing in the piece that hinted at any condemnation for the GOP's blatant use of the Schiavo family as a vote-seeking tool. When Bush, DeLay, and Frist first got word of polls showing that the public overwhelmingly opposed their actions, notice they quickly dissipated into nowhere land. If they truly cared about the "culture of life," you'd think they'd continue to fight for Terri Schiavo despite the abysmal poll numbers.

Mind you, the WSJ is not professing anything earth-shattering or provocative: sure, a national conversation on the "right to die" issue would be a productive, needed exercise. But why didn't Bush & Co. bring it up months or years ago, without the convenient prompting of a 15-year tragic, private family case? Heck, they could've used the Pope instead, a truly public figure (do we know if the Pope has a living will? Excuse my ignorance but I'm unclear of what could happen if the Pope slips into a coma, requiring a feeding tube, etc.).

Again, the entire manufactured spectacle has been sickening and I must admit, for many of those right-wingers I know that usually defend Bush and his gang no matter what, to hear most of them condemn this recent action shows you just how far over the line the GOP has finally gone.

You think they'll learn from this and moderate? Hah!! That would require reason and common sense, both clearly lacking in this current version of the ruling party.

UPDATE: Vatican reports Pope fed nutrition through tube.