In a Torrent of Campaign Rhetoric, Hints of Science Policy

摘要

They may not move many voters, but science and technology issues are starting to get some attention in the U.S. presidential campaign. In the past few weeks, both the Republican and Democratic parties have released lengthy platforms that offer insights into their views on a range of research-related matters, from climate change to biomedi-cal studies. The two presidential contenders, President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, have set out positions on thorny challenges such as returning American astronauts to space and enabling foreign-born scientists to work and live in the United States. They've also answered 14 questions posed by a coalition of pro-science organizations, including AAAS, which publishes Science (ScienceDebate.org). Taken together, the election-season outpouring reveals some striking differences between the two candidates, as well as how their parties have shifted since 2008. There are also some broad areas of agreement (see platform statements, below and opposite page). But observers caution voters not to get too carried away with the rhetoric on either side. "There isn't a party or candidate in history that has been able to fully implement their vision-and few expect to," says political scientist Quentin Kidd of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Party platforms in particular, he notes, are "aspirational" documents designed to give voice to an array of party constituencies. In addition, presidential candidates often hold positions at odds with their own party's plank. Still, "words do matter," he says, noting that the rhetorical posturing can "help reveal how [candidates and parties] view the role of science in solving problems and making policy."