Political professionals have tried repeatedly over the years to explain why gun control -- an issue that, at one point, at least, polled well generally -- was a loser at the polls.

Basically, the argument boils down to this: People who favor some form of gun control don't vote for or against candidates based on that one issue; on the other hand, those who oppose restrictions do precisely that. The voting pattern amounts to a version of what consultants sometimes call a "referendum election."

The question O'Toole File asks today is this: Is "therapeutic cloning" (i.e., cloning parts for research, rather than people) the same sort of issue? Isn't it entirely possible that the millions of Americans who are waiting for a cure based on this technology will become, in essence, single-issue voters?

This is something that the pols, who are currently only reading the "top line" of the polls, need to consider very carefully before they vote to completely ban the procedure.
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