Jeb had private meeting with medical examiner re Schiavo

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http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/18/Opinion/Move_on__Gov_Bush.shtml

Gov. Jeb Bush showed his best side the other day when he let down his guard and talked to young leaders about what he has learned about himself since he has been in office. Then he turned right around and indulged his worst impulses by asking prosecutors to review the circumstances surrounding Terri Schiavo's collapse 15 years ago. It is a callous, arrogant, defiant act by a stubborn governor who can't accept facts at odds with his own views.

The Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner's thorough autopsy found no evidence that Schiavo had been abused or drugged. There were no broken bones or other signs she had been attacked. Bush even went over the autopsy report in an extraordinary private meeting with the medical examiner, but he can't stand it that the cause of her collapse could not be pinned down. Now he has asked Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe to examine how much time passed between Schiavo's collapse and Michael Schiavo's call for help. This is a desperate politician abusing his power in an attempt to justify his previous interference in this tragedy, and McCabe should spend no more than five minutes on it.

The autopsy report says Michael Schiavo called 911 about 5:40 a.m. to summon help for his wife. Paramedics found her not breathing at 5:52 a.m., and a pulse was measured at 6:32 a.m. A University of South Florida pathology professor who reviewed the autopsy reports for the Times said he does not believe Schiavo could have been revived if her husband had waited 70 minutes to call for help. Michael Schiavo's lawyer agrees. It does not require a formal review by prosecutors to ask Michael Schiavo again about what time he found his wife, and the answer is not likely to get any clearer.

But state law, medical conclusions by experts and court rulings by dozens of judges did not stop Bush from irrationally contesting Schiavo's constitutional right to have her end-of-life wishes followed. Now he won't let her autopsy be the final word. Despite his candid self-assessment earlier this week about his impatience and certainty of his own opinions, Bush really hasn't learned much at all about accepting when he is wrong and moving on.