What Took Michael So Long?

Here are the transcripts of an interesting interview with Larry King and Michael Schiavo form March 21, 2005.

To cut to the chase the central issue has been Michael Schiavo’s credibility when he claimed that his wife Terri made it clear to him that she preferred death to living under her present circumstances. The Reader’s Digest version of the transcripts are as follows from Best of the Web Today – March 22, 2005, By JAMES TARANTO:

Last night Mr. Schiavo appeared on “Larry King Live,” and a comment by his lawyer, George Felos, who fielded all questions from callers, though Schiavo responded directly to questions from the host, gave further reason for doubt:

Caller: Quick comment. I’m not understanding why a blood relative wouldn’t make this decision and not a non-blood relative. My question is, if this happened 15 years ago, and this gentleman and his wife decided between them that they would pull the tube and let each other die if they were in this kind of a situation, what took him eight years to make that decision and why didn’t he make it in those first eight years and has now had another seven years tacked on? . . .

Felos: Sure. For those years, Michael was trying desperately to–as, I guess, he had a desperate hope that Terri would get better, despite the doctors telling him that, you know, Mike, there’s nothing there, there is no hope. He refused to believe it. It took many, many years for Michael to finally, I guess, come to reality and believe that Terri was not coming back.

For eight years, in other words, Mr. Schiavo failed to carry out what he now insists–and his supporters unquestioningly assert–were her wishes. Furthermore, as we noted yesterday, after his change of heart about whether his wife could be saved, he took up with another woman, fathered two children with her and announced his intention to marry her.

Again, the point here is not that any of this behavior is blameworthy, but rather that it provides ample reason to doubt whether Mr. Schiavo can be trusted to act on Mrs. Schiavo’s behalf.

Gives one much reason to doubt Michael’s truthfulness and makes me truly question what our Courts are doing.