Tour de l'Iowa

Lance Armstrong has announced his LiveStrong Presidential Cancer Forum, a continuation of the work he did during the legislative session which resulted in the forthcoming referendum on a $3 billion bond for cancer research here in Texas.

There have been a number of issue forums already for the presidential race, but a forum specifically on cancer policy could result in some interesting plans and commentary. I don't know that I've ever thought about it in those terms, specifically — cancer policy. Considering how many people we all know that are affected by cancer, it makes sense to think about it in terms that might lead to a serious paradigm shift in how the disease is researched, treated, and dealt with by the government.

I am willing to bet that most, if not all, of the major candidates will show up to discuss their takes on it. Armstrong is a household name with the kind of charitable foundation credentials that aren't easily disregarded. I will be curious, though, to see how Republican candidates deal with discussing avenues to curing and eradicating cancer as sworn opponents of stem cell research.

This is the kind of issue that can show the stark differences in the conservative and progressive approaches to public policy, and how those policies can not only touch people's lives, but shape them as well. I am hard-pressed to think of a case where a conservative public policy issue works out better for regular people than a progressive one.