Via Tara, I see that a major media organ has finally contrasted Bush's "I Heart Science" message in his SOTU speech with the reality of how science has been treated in this administration:
Starting when he was a presidential candidate in 2000, George W. Bush has often assured voters that his policymaking would be guided by "sound science." Last week, in his State of the Union address, the President pointed to scientific research as the way to "lead the world in opportunity and innovation for decades to come." Yet growing numbers of researchers, both in and out of government, say their findings—on pollution, climate change, reproductive health, stem-cell research and other areas in which science often finds itself at odds with religious, ideological or corporate interests—are being discounted, distorted or quashed by Bush Administration appointees.
The article doesn't contain many new revelations, but the framing is, to me, striking. It's the exact opposite of this ridiculous softball piece from the Washington Post recently, depicting a president who is newly gaga about science and technology:
The president's fascination with the gee-whiz breakthroughs of modern science may not be new, but it has certainly been more evident in the days since he made unleashing the power of research and innovation a central element of his State of the Union address. As he tours the country promoting his plan to encourage more laboratory advances and improve science education, Bush has been fixated with some of the most tantalizing new technologies in the works.
Really, I'm a bit astonished that the Post's Peter Baker swallowed all of this. It reminds me of 2001, when the White House was putting out the message that Bush was really agonizing over his upcoming stem cell decision, in order to paint the president as a wise, Solomonic decision-maker. Bush wasn't really agonizing, of course--if he had been, one expects he wouldn't have confused stem cell lines with stem cell derivations. But much of the media faithfully reported that the president was thinking hard, even though they had no particular evidence of this.
