For months, everyone has been asking us--on and off the blogosphere--when will there be an invitation for ScienceDebate 2008? Well, that day has come. See here for the press release (featuring Intel chairman Craig Barrett, who just joined the initiative), and here for the actual invite. The latter is quite long, so here are the essentials you need to know. ScienceDebate2008 is now co-sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academies, and the Council on Competitiveness. We were looking at venues, and finally settled on an offer from the Philadelphia-based Franklin Institute--named, of course, after one of this country's first and greatest scientists. We can't think of a more appropriate venue. Our proposed date is April 18, 2008, which is just before the Pennyslvania primary. So any candidate who agrees to come to the event will stand the chance of improving his or her showing in this critical state. The candidates we've invited are (in alphabetical order): Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Barack Obama. So now what? Well, we've got to make this happen. We owe it to the thousands who have signed up in support of this initiative. We've got to make the candidates agree to debate. That's why we're now calling you to action... readers, bloggers, scientists, and concerned citizens. What can you do? Well, consider the following:
1. Contact the campaigns, and tell them to attend ScienceDebate2008! A list of contact information for the campaigns can be found here (see right margin). 2. Write letters to the editor of your local newspapers, raising further awareness about this initiative. Some handy letter writing tips can be found here. 3. Tell a friend about ScienceDebate2008 (handy link here). We need to spread the word as much as possible at this critical time. We're at 13,000 supporters right now; we want to get to 15,000 supporters by the end of the week and 20,000 supporters by the end of the month. We need your help to make that happen.
The bottom line is this, folks: We're soooooooooo close to making the impossible happen. Indeed, it is staggering how far we have come in just two months. Now, though, we need your help to get us across the finish line. So please, please, contact your friends, and contact the campaigns, and become part of the incredible momentum that's building for the first official presidential science debate.
