Given their unwillingness to debate science on the campaign trail, I've been down on both McCain and Obama. However, I increasingly must acknowledge that even as McCain went and appointed an anti-science running mate and started scoring cheap political points by attacking government science projects, Obama has started to truly shine when it comes to taking science policy seriously. Yeah, he's had scores of Nobel Laureates endorse him, but that's not my only evidence. The most impressive thing Obama has done, to my mind, is this recent letter to Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. As I wrote in my second-to-last Science Progress column, the NAS just did an important report on science appointments in the next administration. It's the kind of thing George W. Bush would have just ignored, but here's Obama writing back and saying, yes, he takes the report seriously and will appoint a high level presidential science adviser quickly. Moreover,
I will also issue an Executive Order establishing clear guidelines for the review and release of publicly-sponsored research, guaranteeing that results are released in a timely manner and are not distorted by ideological biases. In addition, I will strengthen protections for "whistleblowers" who report on any government attempts to distort or ignore scientific research. And I will establish clear guidelines for selecting and vetting members of science and technology advisory committees for the White House and government agencies on the basis of merit.
All of which shows that Obama and his staff are now seriously engaging at a high level with the concerns of the scientific community and taking its advice seriously. And (ignoring George W. Bush for a moment) that's, well...presidential.
