Stem-Cell Debate Heats Up Missouri Race
When St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan takes the mound tonight, he's not only pitching for a World Series win. He's also going to bat for conservatives on the hot-button issue of stem-cell research, CBS News Cynthia Bowers reports.
Suppan is joined by a number of local sports heroes and even the man who played Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." A conservative group produced the ad to fight back against a series of ads put out by actor Michael J. Fox.
In those ads, shown locally in Missouri during the first three games of the World Series, a visibly shaking Fox, who's battling Parkinson's disease, urges fans to vote "yes" to stem-cell research and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill, and "no" to the Republican incumbent, Sen. Jim Talent.
Talent was out campaigning Wednesday and his office declined comment, but his opponent is enjoying the unexpected attention.
"Literally thousands and thousands of people have clicked on the Web site in the past few days," says Claire McCaskill, Talent's opponent in the Senate race.
Katie Couric interviews Michael J. Fox about the stem cell debate on Thursday's CBS Evening News.
McCaskill credits conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh for the money and attention. What had been a limited ad campaign targeting just a few Senate races in a few key states where stem cells are an issue suddenly went national when Limbaugh suggested Fox was exaggerating the symptoms of his disease.
"He is moving all around and shaking ... it's purely an act," Limbaugh said this week during his nationally syndicated radio talk show.
Limbaugh later apologized, but with the spotlight now on the Missouri Senate race, the Republican Party quickly channeled an extra $2 million into the Show Me State, trying to offset an ad that may do more than pull on heartstrings — it may pull voters into the polls.