Ugh. It appears that Barack Obama has joined the John McCain bandwagon in suggesting that there may be a link between vaccines and autism, science to the contrary be damned!
“We’ve seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.”
Of course, as the article linked to this statement points out, the science is, in fact, quite conclusive on this issue. Given the very real dangers of not vaccinating children, this kind of non-scientific scaremongering goes beyond normal political pandering and into the danger zone. Both Obama and McCain ought to be ashamed about this. Of course, they won’t be, since the surgical removal of one’s sense of shame is part of the orientation training for your first week in the U.S. Senate. But it would be nice if their advisors would advise them to at least appear ashamed.
