On the July 21 edition of Denver PBS affiliate KBDI Channel 12's Colorado Inside Out, Rocky Mountain News media critic and Independence Institute research director Dave Kopel distorted an October 2004 remark made by then-Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) in support of expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Edwards was also a vice-presidential candidate at the time.

Discussing “proponents of federal subsidization for” embryonic stem cell research, Kopel falsely stated that “John Edwards in 2004 claimed that [the late paralyzed actor] Christopher Reeve would walk again." In fact, Edwards did not say that stem cell research would allow Reeve to “walk again.” Rather, at an October 10, 2004, campaign stop in which Edwards noted that Reeve had died earlier that day, Edwards stated that “if we can do the work that we can do in this country -- the work we will do when [Sen.] John Kerry [D-MA] is president -- people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk.”

From Edwards's October 10, 2004, speech:

EDWARDS: Christopher Reeve just passed away. And America just lost a great champion for this cause. Somebody who is a powerful voice for the need to do stem cell research and change the lives of people like him, who have gone through the tragedy. Well, if we can do the work that we can do in this country -- the work we will do when John Kerry is president -- people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.

From the July 21 edition of Colorado Inside Out:

KOPEL: One thing I thought was always amusing in this is, on the one hand, the proponents of federal subsidization for this say, “Oh, this has so much wonderful potential.” John Edwards in 2004 claimed that Christopher Reeve would walk again. Uh, it's such enormous potential.

As Media Matters for America noted, conservative media figures made similar distortions of Edwards's comments during the 2004 presidential campaign.