Frist attempts to rehab his post-Schiavo image

Senate Majority leader Bill Frist is attempting to undo the damage he did to his reputation during the Terri Schiavo fiasco.

Frist is pretending now that it took the profound disapproval of the American people to teach him that the federal government should not interfere with private end-of-life decisions such as those made by Michael Schiavo for his wife.

The case became a rallying point for right-to-life advocates, an important segment of the Republican Party. It also drew interest from those supporting the right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment and led to charges that the GOP was using a family tragedy for political gain.

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he had any regrets regarding the Schiavo case, Frist said: "Well, I'll tell you what I learned from it, which is obvious. The American people don't want you involved in these decisions."
Schiavo, 41, died March 31, nearly two weeks after her feeding tube was removed and 15 years after her initial collapse and hospitalization. Courts in Florida had supported her husband's contention that she would not want to live in such a state. Her parents and siblings disagreed and for years fought efforts to remove her feeding tube.

An autopsy later showed that Schiavo had suffered severe, irreversible brain damage and was blind.

Senator, it should not have taken public opinion polls to convince you that what you and the Republican party did to that family was wrong. Stop trying to defend your "call for further examinations of the brain-damaged Florida woman" and just say you're sorry.

But, guess what? No matter what you say now, you still have no chance of ever becoming President of the United States.