Our next president is certain to be very smart, but probably not scientist smart. Deep down, both Barack Obama and John McCain know this. That's because sometime in high school, each surely got frustrated by physics or calculus and said to himself, "You know, I really enjoy history."
Which is why they haven't agreed to the demands of Science Debate 2008, a coalition of top universities, Nobel laureates, politicians and -- for reasons I hope are unrelated to his role as a paleontologist on "Friends" -- David Schwimmer that wants the candidates to formally address science policy.
But Obama and McCain don't have to be afraid of looking dumb. No one is going to ask them to calculate angles or remember trig formulas, I suspect, because that stuff is actually math, not science. I really enjoyed history.
I know they're scared that discussing scientific issues will anger some religious people, corporations and those who dislike being bored. But Americans love a leader who cares about science. The last one we had was Thomas Jefferson, and he got on Mt. Rushmore and the nickel.
The winning strategy for Science Debate 2008 is simple: Go science-geek crazy. For eight years, U.S. science policy hasn't been dictated by actual science, so our next president is going to have to overcompensate. To get this across, I've provided some talking points either candidate is welcome to use. They might want to run them by some scientists first.
* Stem cells: Many Republicans felt that stem cell research was kind of icky because the cells often came from fetal tissue, which, they apparently thought, is usually given some kind of Arlington-Cemetery-style funeral. So you've got to make America comfortable with stem cells. Use them for everything. All those letters from the office of the president could say at the bottom, "Made from 100% recycled stem cells." Would it be so crazy to start a state dinner with some kind of stem cell appetizer? And, while I'm not suggesting appointment to an important post like secretary of State, surely there's a small department or ambassadorship that a particularly impressive stem cell could handle.
