The Cellular Divide

摘要

Bill Frist has already been buffeted by both parties. But if he thought that was tough, wait till he tries to navigate the thorny politics of stem-cell research. IF YOU WANT TO BE A REPUBLICAN president--and Bill Frist of Tennessee does--there's no better place to be on a Memorial Day weekend than where he was planning to be last Sunday: in Charlotte, N. C., at Lowe's Motor Speedway, waving a green flag as honorary starter of the Coca-Cola 600. For Frist, a product of prep school, Princeton and Harvard, it was the ultimate twofer, a chance for a senator and surgeon to bond with NASCAR and the Bible Belt. But it will take more than flag-waving for Frist, the Senate majority leader, to steer his way through this Congress--let alone from the Capitol tothe White House. He's navigating a high-speed obstacle course, and roadblocks ahead include more controversial judicial nominations, perhaps a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, and the newest, arguably most politically dangerous of all: the emotionally freighted, divisive issue of federal funding for stem-cell research.