Both candidates have answered the questions about scientific issues posed by the ScienceDebate2008. You can read their answers side by side here.
Several comments in no particular order:
- McCain mentions ending earmarks in reference to supporting scientific funding. How are those two even related?
- Obama is much more specific than McCain with respect to innovation policy -- he promises to double basic research funding whereas McCain promises increases. Obama seems to understand the specific issue of scientific funding in relation to inflation better. They both seem to get the association between basic research and economic growth. That's good because it has always been our strongest argument with the publlic. However, in both cases, I will believe the commitment when I see the results.
- With respect to integrity, both emphasize increased access by the President's scientific advisors which is very good. However, this is something again that you need to see to believe. You could have advisors who are roundly ignored in favor of political considerations, or you can have policies that are based on facts. McCain seems to see scientific advising as a way to establish accountability and fiscal discipline -- which is good but a weird way to think about it. Obama seems to see scientific advising more in terms of expert advice.
- Stripped of the ancillary nonsense like offshore drilling, they say similar things about energy policy and climate change. Both want cap-and-trade which is good, but I am going to be curious to see whether either can get law passed for it. Anything which is even slightly punitive is going to have trouble regardless of who is President.
- Does McCain seem unnecessarily wordy to anyone else? Don't these people know about talking points?
- While both candidates ostensibly support stem cell research, I expect McCain's support to be much more tepid -- particularly considering his vice presidential pick. Obama is much more specific about lifting the Bush ban whereas McCain sounds like he would rather change the subject.
- All in all, these statements strike me as somewhat canned. Obama does this less than McCain, but both are more vague on specifics than I would like. (It is weird that McCain answered the questions second, but didn't respond specifically to Obama's answers. That seems like good tactics to me.) Both read like they were written by staffers and (maybe) approved by the candidates later.
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McCain mentions ending earmarks in reference to supporting scientific funding. How are those two even related?
Good heavens! Somebody's naive here, but it isn't McCain.
In FY 2006, the AAAS estimated that earmark funding for R&D totaled 2.4 billion dollars, over half the NSF budget for research for that year.