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edit: apparently this has been posted a million time so i'll change it to something different

Kerry to reverse stem cell policy


John Kerry in Ohio on Saturday, 16 October
The campaign is reaching its peak - and temperatures are rising
The Democratic candidate for the US presidency, John Kerry, has said he will make stem cell research a top priority if he wins the election.

Mr Kerry vowed to reverse George W Bush's restrictions on the matter as he remembered the late actor Christopher Reeve, whom he had known for 15 years.

Meanwhile, Mr Bush has signed a bill requiring the state department to monitor global anti-Semitism.


The temperature is higher than ever and the campaigning dominated by aggressive rhetoric and verbal attacks, says the BBC's Jill McGivering in Washington.

Scientists' hands 'tied'

"We are going to make funding for [stem cell] research a top priority in our government agencies, our universities and our medical communities," Mr Kerry said while campaigning in the state of Ohio.

"We'll continue to lead the world in great discoveries - all while upholding the highest ethical standards," he added.

President Bush in Florida on Saturday, 16 October
Mr Bush stepped up attacks on his rival
He said the restrictions on funding for embryonic research imposed by Mr Bush were "a ban that's tied the hands of our scientists and shut down some of our most promising work on spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's and other life-threatening diseases".

He went on to say that a president who "turns his back on science" left no hope for many Americans.

He added: "When it comes to reality, George Bush has a simple strategy: Ignore it, deny it, then try to hide it."

Anti-Semitism impulse

Meanwhile Mr Bush, who is campaigning in Florida, said the state department would rate countries annually on the way they treated Jews.

"Today, I signed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004," he said.

"This law permits the government to keep a record of anti-Semitic acts throughout the world, and also a record of responses to those acts," he said.

"This nation will keep watch: we will make sure that the ancient impulse of anti-Semitism never finds a home in the modern world."

Correspondents say Florida's Jewish population is believed to be the largest after that of Israel and New York.

Both Florida and Ohio are among so-called "swing states" that are expected to prove crucial to the result.

Personal attacks

Some analysts have predicted President Bush would use the final phase of the campaign to step up stinging personal attacks on his rival, our correspondent says.

There were signs of this, too, as he repeatedly attacked Senator Kerry's voting record and tried to present him as an ultra-liberal, she says.

He attacked Mr Kerry's record on taxes - trying to fuel voter concern they would face a heavy tax burden under the Democrats.

That allegation does seem to have registered in opinion polls, despite a promise from Senator Kerry that he would only raise taxes on America's top 2%, our correspondent adds.

In Ohio, Mr Kerry hammered home his position on domestic social issues which many see as his policy strength.

He emphasised the impact of job losses nationwide under President Bush.

Ohio has been particularly affected by unemployment, especially in the manufacturing sector, our correspondent says.

Edited, Sat Oct 16 19:13:19 2004 by walkerscrisps

You must be joking.

Theres a new one as well people at Jib Jab are favorable of bush, very easy to see