JOHNNY R. EDWARDS, ESQ.
OK, I'm open to argument that Edwards didn't say this - please tell me if it is true or not:

When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again . . .

Drudge is reporting it, and I've heard it mentioned on talk radio and on internet forums, but I haven't seen it reported in the mainstream press.

Did Edwards say it or not?

If he did say it, why is it not being reported in the mainstream press? If he did say it, this would have to be the boldest campaign promise in recorded history. If he did say it, it would be the most cruel and cynical attempt yet to play on the hopes of the physically injured and disabled. If he did say it, then we've just taken a look at the John Edwards that juries used to see. If he did say it, it makes his decision not to exploit the tragedy of his son's death merely a selfish maneuver rather than a decision based on moral principle.

If he didn't say it, then the Right, and Drudge, are guilty of the same sad exploitation of Christopher Reeve and this nation's disabled people and they ought to be ashamed.

UPDATE: Wizbang is wondering about Kerry's claim to have received a cellphone message from Reeve right before slipping into his coma.

Still nothing from the Kerry camp praising the Bush Administration for being the first to fund embryonic stem cell research with federal dollars. No word from George Soros about whether he'll start spending those billions to fund embryonic stem cell research, either. No word from Kerry about asking Soros to do so.