Christopher Reeve died yesterday. Although he played an action hero in the movies, performing his own stunts, standing tall as the epitome of American strength and character, it was later on, with such feats as moving his index finger, that he demonstrated that his true strength was in believing that the impossible was possible, and setting out to make it so.

I’m not usually one to get all sappy about celebrity deaths, but, I truly believed that Reeve would live forever, and that one day, he would get up out of that wheelchair and walk on his own. Imagine what could have been gained toward that goal if the past 4 years had not seen a virtual freeze on American stem-cell research. Give to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, and vote for John Kerry. There are millions more who would benefit from a national commitment to compassion without the cheap moralizing and pandering politics of the current administration.