Poor Bill Frist's inept constituency-chasin' only gets worse. After sticking a dagger in his medical dignity by offering a (totally wrong) telediagnosis of Terry Schiavo, he tried to walk the damage back by supporting stem cell research. Criticism from his friends on the Christian Right, however, shivered the poor doctor's spine, and in a vain attempt to be asked back to Dobson's pulpit, he's loudly, futilely proclaiming his support for Intelligent Design in schools.
The first response is that the supposedly moderate leader of the Senate is taking a position so nutty that even Rick Santorum won't endorse it. "Bill Frist: Crazier Than Santorum!" just isn't the sort of reputation one wants to have. The second, though, is pity. Bill Frist wants to be President. He's not going to be. He's no titan of the Senate whose entrance will clear the field, no national figure whose very name gets independents nodding in coffee shops, no regional hero who'll have a clear set of primaries to dominate. His hope, then, was to finally be the leader able to actualize the Christian Right's agenda. If their years of frustration could be ended by Bill Frist, they'd have to support him!
So he went with them on judges and Schiavo, abortion and ID. But instead of looking like their hero, he just seemed their slave. He made an ass of himself on Schiavo, lost, at least in their eyes, on judges, and was never quite out front on abortion. And all this came at the expense of his professional reputation and public dignity (kowtowing to neanderthals never helps the self-esteem). So he tried to use stem cells to reassert independence. Turns out, Dobson doesn't like independence. So now he's back, trying to heal the breach and make amends. And once again, he just looks weak.
Poor Bill Frist. Nobody, not even Christians, really want the weak and easily steamrolled sitting in the Oval Office. And so he'll never get there. The Bible says the meek shall inherit the earth, but it doesn't command that the devout vote them the deed. Bill Frist has managed to keep himself from being the Christian Right's enemy, but his obvious calculation and transparent political ineptitude will keep him from ever getting their respect. And since he's got no one else to turn to, Frist's bid is, basically, DOA.
