Wherefore Art Thou, Clint?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Maureen Dowd: "I saw 'Million Dollar Baby' and was dazzled. But then Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved and other conservatives howled that Dirty Harry playing Dr. Kevorkian sends a positive message about euthanasia. The culture cops are unmoved that Clint Eastwood's crepuscular boxing manager, Frankie, is a Catholic who goes to Mass every day and agonizes about the morality of his actions.

Mr. Medved wrote that the Oscar nominations for 'Million Dollar Baby' and 'The Sea Inside,' which feature plots about assisted suicide, combined with snubs for 'The Passion of the Christ,' 'illustrate Hollywood's profound, almost pathological discomfort with the traditional religiosity embraced by most of its mass audience.' "