A microscopic view shows a colony of human embryonic stem cells (light blue) growing on fibroblasts. (REUTERS/Alan Trounson/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) | REUTERS A dash of science: Now that's change

President Barack Obama did a lot more than lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research Monday. He came to the startling conclusion that scientific research should be based on science.

This will be a change. George W. Bush spent the past eight years making sure scientific research was based on conservative ideology, political manipulation and whim.


Global warming? Buncha baloney. We’ve got millions of years left. Saw a polar bear the other day in a zoo. Looked fine. And if scientists disagree with that, we can always find new scientists.

Using embryonic stem cells to try to cure diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes or to repair spinal cord injuries? Hold your horses on that one. Some religious conservatives don’t like that one.

Some centuries ago, they didn’t like Galileo saying the Earth revolved around the sun, and they got him to recant (and spend the rest of his life under house arrest). That wasn’t good for science, but it was just fine for the Inquisition.

Monday, Obama said, in effect, modern inquisitions were over. He said scientists must be “free from manipulation and coercion.”

And he said he is going to make sure “that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda — and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

This was more than some could take. House Republican leader John A. Boehner quickly issued a statement saying, “This decision runs counter to President Obama’s promise to be a president for all Americans.”

And, I guess, if you are an American who believes scientists should be manipulated and coerced and have their results distorted by politics and ideology, you are very disappointed today.

Which is not to say all conservatives are disappointed by Obama’s decision. Nancy Reagan quickly endorsed it, saying that “time is short and life is precious.”

And during his presidential campaign, John McCain said, “I’ve prayed a lot about it, but I’ve come down on the side of support for embryonic stem cell research.”

According to Gallup, “A solid majority of Americans (typically 60 percent) agree with using stem cells derived from human embryos for medical research, 61 percent considering such research morally acceptable.”

Which is why some Republicans don’t really want to talk about it that much. Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday: “Let’s take care of business first. People are out of jobs.”

They are. And putting people back to work is Job 1 for the Obama administration. But this president seems determined to prove that government can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Speaking of the need for painstaking and costly research, Obama said, “When government fails to make these investments, opportunities are missed.”

He went on by saying, “In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent.”

So science will go forward. But wait. There is a potential problem with this. Scientists can become mad. We know this from watching many, many movies. You give mad scientists money and leave them alone in a laboratory, and you know what they will do?

Eric Cantor does. He says Obama’s decision on stem cell research could lead to “human cloning.”

Which Cantor is against. Though I don’t know why. Human cloning might be the best way Republicans have to create more Republicans.