Mmmm.....Fristy...

The entire media establishment has talked about Bill Frist's supposed split from Bush on the stem cell debate. Much is being made about this, as well as rampant speculation on his motives. He's received a lot of credit for going against his president on this issue. But think for a moment of what other possibilities there are: he is doing this not to have his own McCain moment, being independent, yadda yadda; he's doing it so he can gut the stem cell bill that was passed by the House, and has, as most people know, significant support in the Senate. So, he's either positioning himself to be a good guy to the average swing voter, or he's out to save face for Bush by altering dramatically the current bill so that Bush won't have to veto it. Given what a charmer Frist is, right now I'm going with door #2.