Presidents have had science advisers in one form or another since Franklin D. Roosevelt. The position gained new importance in 1976 when Congress established the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The OSTP has a mandate to advise the President and others in the Executive Office of the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.
According to its website, the OSTP and science adviser, who until recently held the title "assistant to the president", has had some success in the past in pushing programs such as the Human Genome Project and getting support for doubling the budget of the National Institutes of Health.
As previous science advisers told Physics Today when current science adviser John Marburger was nominated in 2001, access to the president is critical. Through direct contact, the science adviser not only can discuss policy with the president, but he gains status as a true "insider," an invaluable asset when dealing with the federal bureaucracy.
Neal Lane, a former science adviser to the Clinton administration, told the New York Times for an article about the politicization of science, "Your influence depends on whether people around the president feel you have something to add."
Whether Marburger has had the access he would like in the Bush administration, remains in question, D. James Baker, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has stated that "the administration has backed away from listening to the science adviser position."
In that regard, despite the experience and long list of eminent scientists providing advice to the Clinton, Obama, Romney, and McCain candidacies, only John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have explicitly stated that they will return the science adviser position to its previous rank of "assistant to the president."
Related Links
John Edward's position on scientific investment
Hillary Clinton's postion on scientific advice
The Science Adviser, Seed magazine, 4 January 2008
Presidential Candidates Dodge Tough Science Topics, FOX News, 4 January 2008
Political Science, The New York Times, 4 September 2005
Past Science Advisers Counsel Bush Nominee, Physics Today, 1 August 2001
Ron Paul has stated that he is against military activity in almost every circumstance when war isn’t declared. He states that because the US went back and offered deals to the North Koreans after they exploded a nuclear weapon, while invading Iraq, a country that did not have an atomic bomb, the US is offering an “tremendous incentive” to non-nuclear states to develop nuclear weapons. He has no other statement on the future status of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
From the 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate Sep 17, 2007
Ron Paul stated that the government should be very small and that the government should not be expected to fund everything..
From Meet the Press: 2007 "Meet the Candidates" series Dec 23, 2007
Ron Paul stated that all federal agencies except for the justice and defense departments should be abolished.
According to Thomas.gov
On April 27, 2007, Ron Paul voted against H.R. 362, the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act.
GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate Sep 17, 2007 Ron Paul stated that he would approve of tax credits for religious schools.
From Ron Paul’s web site
The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund or control schools. I want to abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions to the states. By removing the federal subsidies that inflate costs, schools can be funded by local taxes, and parents and teachers can directly decide how best to allocate the resources.
To help parents with the costs of schooling, I have introduced H.R. 1056, the Family Education Freedom Act, in Congress. This bill would allow parents a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjustable after 2007 for inflation) per student per year for the cost of attendance at an elementary and/or secondary school. This includes private, parochial, religious, and home schools.
Another bill I have sponsored, H.R. 1059, allows full-time elementary and secondary teachers a $3,000 yearly tax credit, thus easing their financial burden and encouraging good teachers to stay in an underpaid profession.
Many parents have already shown their desire to be free of federal control by either enrolling their children in private schools or homeschooling them. And students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than those in state-run schools.
Hillary for President: ...I’ll improve math and science education, and open up science and engineering to more of our people. And I’ll end the assault on science waged by the Bush Administration.
Hillary for President: Hillary has a bold and comprehensive plan to address America's energy and environmental challenges that will establish a green, efficient economy and create as many as five million new jobs.
Centered on a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, stronger energy and auto efficiency standards and a significant increase in green research funding, Hillary's plan will reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and address the looming climate crisis.
Setting ambitious targets, the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day.
Hillary would transform our economy from carbon-based to clean and energy efficient, jumpstarting research and development through a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund and doubling investment in basic energy research. She would also spur the green building industry by funding the retrofitting and modernization of 20 million low-income homes and take concrete steps to reduce electricity consumption, including enacting strict appliance efficiency standards and phasing out incandescent light bulbs.
Recognizing that transportation accounts for 70 percent of U.S. oil consumption, Hillary would increase fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, but would help automakers retool their production facilities through $20 billion in "Green Vehicle Bonds."
To take the steps necessary to transition to a clean and renewable energy future, Hillary will urge all of the nation's stakeholders to contribute to the effort. Automakers will be asked to make more efficient vehicles; oil and energy companies to invest in cleaner, renewable technologies; utilities to ramp up use of renewables and modernize the grid; coal companies to implement clean coal technology; government to establish a cap and trade carbon emissions system and renew its leadership in energy efficient buildings and services; individuals to conserve energy and utilize efficient light bulbs and appliances in their homes; and industry to build energy efficient homes and buildings.
Hillary's plan to promote energy independence, address global warming, and transform our economy includes:
A new cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits alongside investments to move us on the path towards energy independence;
An aggressive comprehensive energy efficiency agenda to reduce electricity consumption 20 percent from projected levels by 2020 by changing the way utilities do business, catalyzing a green building industry, enacting strict appliance efficiency standards, and phasing out incandescent light bulbs;
A $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund, paid for in part by oil companies, to fund investments in alternative energy. The SEF will finance one-third of the $150 billon ten-year investment in a new energy future contained in this plan;
Doubling of federal investment in basic energy research, including funding for an ARPA-E, a new research agency modeled on the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Aggressive action to transition our economy toward renewable energy sources, with renewables generating 25 percent of electricity by 2025 and with 60 billion gallons of home-grown biofuels available for cars and trucks by 2030;
10 "Smart Grid City" partnerships to prove the advanced capabilities of smart grid and other advanced demand-reduction technologies, as well as new investment in plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies;
An increase in fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, and $20 billion of "Green Vehicle Bonds" to help U.S. automakers retool their plants to meet the standards;
A plan to catalyze a thriving green building industry by investing in green collar jobs and helping to modernize and retrofit 20 million low-income homes to make them more energy efficient;
A new "Connie Mae" program to make it easier for low and middle-income Americans to buy green homes and invest in green home improvements;
A requirement that all publicly traded companies report financial risks due to climate change in annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
Creation of a "National Energy Council" within the White House to ensure implementation of the plan across the Executive Branch.
A requirement that all federal buildings designed after January 20, 2009 will be zero emissions buildings.
Huckabee has not outlined clear positions on the federal funding of science. He has pledge to simplify the immigration process for highly-skilled and highly-educated applicants.
Huckabee has also promised to increase funding for research into all avenues of alternative energy: nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, clean coal, biodiesel, and biomass.
Although having a number of educators providing advice on education policy, such as Eileen Weiser of the National Assessment Governing Board (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/b501220e-3c9f-4ff7-85fd-524ce99b66c9.htm) and Phil Handy, former chairman of the Florida State Board of Education (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/8ec58462-84b1-4f6b-88dd-80232036fc09.htm), McCain has yet to officially release an education policy.
During the 9 December 2007 republican primary debate on Univision McCain (http://www.ontheissues.org/2007_Univision_GOP.htm) stated
"Choice and competition is the key to success in education in America. That means charter schools, that means home schooling, it means vouchers, it means rewarding good teachers and finding bad teachers another line of work. It means rewarding good performing schools, and it really means in some cases putting bad performing schools out of business. I want every American parent to have a choice, a choice as to how they want their child educated, and I guarantee you the competition will dramatically increase the level of education in America."
McCain has also suggested turning education policy back to individual states and offering federal money through unrestricted block grants. He will keep most aspects of No Child Left Behind legalization in place.
Mike Huckabee for President: ...There is no way Iran will acquire nuclear weapons on my watch. But before I look parents in the eye to explain why I had to put their son’s or daughter’s life at risk in military action against Iran, I want to know that I have done everything possible to avoid that conflict...
On June 5 at the CNN GOP debate in New Hampshire, Gov. Huckabee stated that he would consider a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran to stop their development of nuclear weapons.
Gov. Huckabee has made no statement on the role of the military or the funding of the nuclear weapon stockpile since running for office.
Mike Huckabee for President: I want to provide our children what I call the "Weapons of Mass Instruction" - art and music - the secret, effective weapons that will help us to be competitive and creative. It is crucial that children flex both the left and right sides of the brain. We all know the cliché of thinking outside the box: I want our children to be so creative that they think outside the cardboard factory.
Art and music are as important as math and science because the dreamers and visionaries among us take the rough straw of an idea and spin it into the gold of new businesses and jobs. It is as important to identify and encourage children with artistic talent as it is those with athletic ability. Our future economy depends on a creative generation.
The study of music improves math scores, spatial reasoning and abstract thinking.
The success of our schools has to be judged by the results we obtain, not the revenues we spend. A focus on true quality rather than mere quantity requires us to set high standards for our students and teachers, measure their performance diligently, and hold educators and administrators accountable for the results in an atmosphere of transparency and efficiency.
As Governor of Arkansas, I created intensive reading and math programs that went back to basics. I started with elementary students and, as those children thrived, I expanded the program to middle and then high schools. Our test scores rose dramatically.
I opposed the teachers' union and got the Fair Dismissal Law passed, which allowed us to terminate poorly performing teachers. To attract top talent, I raised teachers' salaries from among the lowest in the nation to among the most competitive. I created systems to make our schools accountable to both parents and taxpayers by insisting on transparency in how money is spent, efficiency in putting money into classroom programs rather than administrative costs, and clear responsibility of all employees for the tasks assigned to them.
As Governor, I fought hard for more charter schools, with their strong parental involvement and their unique ability to serve as laboratories for education reform, and for the rights of parents to home school their children. I am a strong supporter of public school choice.
We need to test teachers as well as students, replace teachers who aren't competent, and impose reasonable waiting periods for teachers to gain tenure. We should provide bonuses and forgive student loans for high-performing teachers to work in low-performing schools.
As President, my education agenda will include working towards a clear distinction between the federal role in assisting and empowering states and in usurping the right of states to carry out the education programs for their students. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law's effort to set high national standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.
Mike Huckabee for President: A Huckabee adminstration would modernize the process of legal immigration by increasing the number of visas for highly-skilled and highly-educated applicants and improve our immigration process so that those patiently and responsibly seeking to come here legally will not have to wait decades to share in the American dream.
NASA Watch: "[Republican presidential candidate John McCain] also said he strongly supports missions to Mars and that Florida should continue to play a major role in space exploration. "There's too much invested there. There's infrastructure that's very expensive and very extensive there," he said."
From his 2005 book "Character is Destiny":
"Darwin helped explain nature’s laws. He did not speculate, in his published theories at least, on the origin of life. He did not exclude God, for Whom the immensity of time is but a moment, from our presence. The only undeniable challenge the theory of evolution poses to Christian beliefs is its obvious contradiction of the idea that God created the world as it is in less than a week. But our faith is certainly not so weak that it can be shaken to learn that a biblical metaphor is not literal history. Nature doesn’t threaten our faith. On the contrary, when we contemplate its beauty and mysteries we cannot quiet in our heart an insistent impulse of belief that for all its variations and inevitable change, before its creation, in a time before time, God let it be so, and, thus, its many splendors and purposes abide in His purpose.”
More from CBN News.
CNN: "I believe in evolution," Sen. John McCain said. "But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also."
Salon.com: On energy, I would say that the reliance on the government to devise a policy is a fallacy. I would advocate that the free market take care of that. The government shouldn't be directing research and development because they are bound and determined to always misdirect money to political cronies. The government ends up subsidizing things like the corn industry to develop ethanol and it turns out that it's not economically feasible. So, my answer to energy is to let the market work. Let supply and demand make the decision. Let prices make the decision. That is completely different than the bureaucratic and cronyism approach.
On May 3, 2007, MSNBC hosted a debate for the GOP presidential candidates at the Reagan Library in California. Near the end of the program, moderator Chris Matthews asked the candidates, "I'm curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not agree, believe in evolution?" Three hands went up, one of them belonging, naturally enough, to Mike Huckabee. Ron Paul, however, kept his hand down.
At a November 1 meeting of the Spartanburg (SC) GOP Executive Committee, Ron Paul was asked about this incident:
"Well, at first I thought it was a very inappropriate question, you know, for the presidency to be decided on a scientific matter, and I think it's a theory, a theory of evolution, and I don't accept it, you know, as a theory, but I think [ it probably doesn't bother me. It's not the most important issue for me to make the difference in my life to understand the exact origin. I think ] the creator that I know created us, everyone of us, and created the universe, and the precise time and manner, I just don't think we're at the point where anybody has absolute proof on either side. [So I just don't . . . if that were the only issue, quite frankly, I would think it's an interesting discussion, I think it's a theological discussion, and I think it's fine, and we can have our . . . if that were the issue of the day, I wouldn't be running for public office."]
Grist: A look at Fred Thompson's environmental platform and record:
Says it's unclear how or why climate change is happening, but says the federal government should conduct R&D into technologies that could reduce CO2 and take other steps to cut emissions if they won't harm the economy.
Calls for boosting "energy security" by increasing domestic supplies, reducing demand for oil and gas, and promoting alternative and renewable energy.
Supports "clean coal."
Supports expansion of nuclear power.
Wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling (and in 2002, voted to do so).
Opposed ethanol subsidies when he was in the Senate, but now supports them.
Fortune..."I've always been an advocate of nuclear power ... I think we're used to it in Tennessee ... We're also mindful of some of the regulatory issues involved and how important it is to keep safety paramount while not having a regulatory maze so impassible that nobody can get through it in a cost-effective manner and build a plant, and that's kind of what's happened now."
While there is no controversy in the scientific community over the basic facts of evolution, advocates of creationism continue to challenge the teaching of evolution in U.S. schools. Do you believe in natural evolution as a fundamental biological process? Would you advocate keeping creationism in its various incarnations, including intelligent design, out of public school classes?
Gravel is quoted by LiveScience as stating that creationism should not be taught in schools:
“We thought we had made a big advance with the Scopes monkey trial … My God, evolution is a fact, and if these people are disturbed by being the descendants of monkeys and fishes, they’ve got a mental problem....That ends the story as far as I’m concerned.”
According to Democratic operative James Carville on CNN (May 2007) "Every Democratic candidate believes in evolution." (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/08/acd.01.html)
There is no statement on Dennis Kucinich's campaign web site about the teaching of evolution and creationism in the science classroom or any recorded response to a question on the teaching of evolution. Kucinich has stated in the past that he believes in the separation of church and state.
JoinRudy2008: “Every potential solution must be pursued – from nuclear power to increased energy exploration to more aggressive investment in alternative energy sources. I believe that America can achieve energy independence through a national strategy that emphasizes diversification, innovation, and conservation.” – Mayor Rudy Giuliani
RUDY’S PLAN TO MOVE TOWARD ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Diversifying Our Energy Portfolio:
Ethanol and Bio-fuels: America will use bio-fuels to help displace foreign oil use by our vehicles. Corn and cellulosic ethanol, as well as bio-diesel will play a role. The bio-fuels industry can help revitalize rural America.
Renewable Energy: Renewable sources of electricity, including solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal power, will play an important role in our move to energy independence.
Nuclear Power: America must expand its use of clean, affordable, and safe nuclear power. If France can get nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear, America can significantly increase our percentage of power from nuclear energy.
Clean Coal: America possesses 27% of the world’s coal. We must commercialize clean coal technologies, including carbon sequestration, so we can utilize this vast domestic resource.
Natural Gas: We should use clean-burning natural gas, especially to replace oil in large truck and bus fleets.
North American Oil and Gas: America must expand environmentally-responsible access to the proven oil and natural gas reserves throughout North America, including in Canada and Mexico.
Future Technologies: America must encourage entrepreneurs in future technologies such as advanced hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel cells.
Securing, Renewing, And Expanding Our Energy Infrastructure: We must ensure the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure. We need new oil refineries, nuclear reactors, transmission lines, and renewable energy facilities. Expanding our infrastructure and diversifying its geographic location directly impacts national security, economic stability, and job creation. Key steps include enhancing security, cutting red tape in the regulatory process, investing in a digital “Smart Grid,” and developing batteries to more effectively store energy.
Efficiency And Conservation: America’s government, corporations, and individuals must engage in efficiency and conservation efforts that reduce demand for oil, without damaging America’s competitiveness worldwide or our standard of living. We need to use more energy-efficient technologies and take personal responsibility for conserving energy. Every gallon of gas and any electricity we do not use is energy we do not import and pollution we reduce.
EnergyStat: The Giuliani Administration will track key energy indicators to measure our progress toward energy independence. While the government already tracks energy statistics, EnergyStat will continuously monitor and measure a selected set of indicators that are specifically tied to the effective management of initiatives on energy independence and climate change. This data will also be online so the public can track our progress and hold government accountable.
JoinRudy2008: Education is power in an information economy. American workers must be the best trained and prepared workforce in the world in order to successfully compete in the global economy.
* Promote science and mathematics through technical certification or an associate degree.
* Advance successful training programs leading to competitive skills the market demands.
* Allow early withdrawal from retirement accounts for qualified retraining programs.
* Expand the number of H1B Visas for skilled foreign workers to meet market demand.
“The next U.S. president must also press ahead with building a national missile defense system. America can no longer rely on Cold War doctrines such as "mutual assured destruction" in the face of threats from hostile, unstable regimes. Nor can it ignore the possibility of nuclear blackmail. Rogue regimes that know they can threaten America, our allies, and our interests with ballistic missiles will behave more aggressively, including by increasing their support for terrorists. On the other hand, the knowledge that America and our allies could intercept and destroy incoming missiles would not only make blackmail less likely but also decrease the appeal of ballistic missile programs and so help to slow their development and proliferation. It is well within our capability to field a layered missile defense capable of shielding us from the arsenals of the world's most dangerous states.” (Foreign Affairs, September/October 2007)
JoinRudy2008: Expand Charter School Options: Rudy commits to the expansion of charter schooling, equitable treatment for charter schools in funding and facilities, and efforts to ensure that local districts are not the sole chartering authorities.
Education is power in an information economy. American workers must be the best trained and prepared workforce in the world in order to successfully compete in the global economy.
* Promote science and mathematics through technical certification or an associate degree.
* Advance successful training programs leading to competitive skills the market demands.
John McCain 2008: McCain is a proponent of nuclear energy and believes that tax credits and other incentives will reduce America’s dependence on oil and gas.
“Our dependency on foreign oil and the way we use hydrocarbons is a major strategic vulnerability, a threat to our security, our economy and the well being of our planet,” says McCain (12/10/2007).
As President, I'll propose a national energy strategy that will amount to a declaration of independence from the fear bred by our reliance on oil sheiks and our vulnerability to the troubled politics of the lands they rule. When we reach the limits of military power and diplomacy to contain the dangers of that cauldron of burning resentments and extremism, energy security is our best defense. We won't achieve it tomorrow, but we must achieve it in our time.
The strategy I propose won't be another grab bag of handouts to this or that industry and a full employment act for lobbyists. It will rely on the genius and technological prowess of American industry and science. Government must set achievable goals, but the markets should be free to produce the means. Those means are within our reach.
Energy efficiency by using improved technology and practicing sensible habits in our homes, businesses and automobiles is a big part of the answer, and is something we can achieve right now. Flexible-fuel vehicles aren't futuristic pie in the sky. We can easily deploy such technology today for less than $100 per vehicle; and we develop the infrastructure necessary to take full advantage.
Alcohol fuels made from corn, sugar, switch grass and many other sources that could benefit that rural farm economy of South Carolina and other states, fuel cells, biodiesel derived from waste products, natural gas, and other technologies are all promising and available alternatives to oil. I won't support subsidizing every alternative or tariffs that restrict the healthy competition that stimulates innovation and lower costs. But I'll encourage the development of infrastructure and market growth necessary for these products to compete, and let consumers choose the winners. I've never known an American entrepreneur worthy of the name who wouldn't rather compete for sales than subsidies.
America's electricity production is for the most part petroleum free, and the existing electric power grid has the capacity to handle the added demand imposed by plug-in hybrid vehicles. We can add more capacity and improve its reliability in the years ahead. I'll work to promote real partnerships between utilities and automakers to accelerate the deployment of plug-in hybrids.
We have in use today a zero emission energy that could provide electricity for millions more homes and businesses than it currently does. Yet it has been over twenty-five years since a nuclear power plant has been constructed. The barriers to nuclear energy are political not technological. We've let the fears of thirty years ago, and an endless political squabble over the storage of nuclear spent fuel make it virtually impossible to build a single new plant that produces a form of energy that is safe and non-polluting.
If France can produce 80 percent of its electricity with nuclear power, why can't we? Is France a more secure, advanced and innovative country than we are? Are France's scientists and entrepreneurs more capable than we are? I need no answer to that rhetorical question. I know my country well enough to know otherwise.
Let's provide for safe storage of spent nuclear fuel, and give host states or localities a proprietary interest so when advanced recycling technologies turn used fuel into a valuable commodity, the public will share in its economic benefits. Other countries, such as France and Japan, already recycle spent fuel. We should do the same.
And South Carolina's MOX program reminds us that the expansion of the use of nuclear power will enable us to turn our swords into plowshares and make the world safer through the conversion of weapons grade material that can be used by terrorists or rogue nations into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors for peaceful uses.
There is much we can do to increase our own oil production in ways that protect the environment using advanced technologies, including those that use and bury carbon dioxide, to recover the oil below the wells we have already drilled, and tap oil, natural gas, and shale economically with minimal environmental impact. The United States has coal reserves more abundant than Saudi Arabia's oil reserves. We found a way to cut down acid rain pollutants from burning coal, and we can find a way to use our coal resources without emitting excessive greenhouse gases.
We can also find ways to use new sources of power like hydrogen. My energy policies will rely on setting good incentives for firms, entrepreneurs, and households. But they will not shortchange the need for basic research to provide the pathway for new sources of energy, better materials, improved batteries, and other advances in knowledge that will be central to rising to this great challenge. The research being performed at Clemson University and the International Center for Automotive Research is unlocking the possibilities for hydrogen fueled automobiles. And research at the University of South Carolina and the Savannah River National Laboratory is advancing the potential for other hydrogen technologies.
America competes in a global economy where innovation and entrepreneurship are the pillars of prosperity. The competition is stiff and the stakes are high. We have the opportunity to apply America's technological supremacy to capture the export markets for advanced energy technologies, reaping the capital investment and good jobs it will provide. Our innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and workers have the knowledge, resources, and drive to lead the way on energy security, as we have in so many other world-changing advancements. The race has always been to the swift, and America must be first to market with innovations that meet mankind's growing energy and environmental needs.
I have proposed a bipartisan plan to address the problem of climate change and stimulate the development and use of advanced technologies. It is a market-based approach that would set reasonable caps on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and provide industries with tradable credits. By reducing its emissions, a utility or industrial plant can generate credits it may trade on the open market for a profit, offering a powerful incentive to drive the deployment of new and better energy sources and technologies; for automakers to develop new ways to lower pollution and increase mileage; for utilities to generate cleaner electricity and capture carbon; for appliance manufacturers to make more efficient products, and for the nation to use energy with maximum efficiency - building conservation into the economy in a manner that produces financial and environmental benefits.
As it always does, the profit motive will attract the transformational power of venture capital, and unleash the market to move clean alternative fuels and advanced energy technologies from the margins into the mainstream.
No details on McCain’s nuclear weapons policy exist on his web site. However, his voting record shows McCain voted against ratifying the comprehensive test ban treaty in October 1999. According to the November/December 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine “"The nuclear nonproliferation regime is broken for one clear reason: the mistaken assumption behind the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) that nuclear technology can spread without nuclear weapons eventually following."
Mitt Romney for President 2008: "We use about 25 percent of the world's oil supply to power our economy, but according to the Department of Energy, we possess only 1.7 percent of the world's crude oil reserves. Our military and economic strength depend on our becoming energy independent – moving past symbolic measures to actually produce as much energy as we use." (Governor Mitt Romney, Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)
"The United States must become energy independent. This does not mean no longer importing or using oil. It means making sure that our nation's future will always be in our hands. Our decisions and destiny cannot be bound to the whims of oil-producing states." (Governor Mitt Romney, Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)
"I want to initiate a bold, far-reaching research initiative – an Energy Revolution, if you will. It will be our generation’s equivalent of the Manhattan Project or the mission to the Moon. This will be a mission to create new, economic sources of energy, clean energy. We will license our technology to other nations and of course we will employ it here at home. It will be good for our national defense, it will be good for our foreign policy, it will be good for our economy." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The George Bush Presidential Library Center, 4/10/07)
Provide Presidential Leadership. Because energy independence is crucial to our economy and our national security, establish it as a top administration priority, and lead the U.S. to a future with affordable and secure energy.
Invest In Research. Dramatically increase federal spending on research, development, and demonstration projects that hold promise for diversifying our energy supply and increasing our energy efficiency, such as:
* Basic research in key technologies like improved energy storage
* Bringing clean energy technology to market through commercialization of large-scale renewables and advanced nuclear technologies
* Improved smart-grid technology for power distribution
* Clean, efficient uses of existing fossil fuels, e.g. clean coal, coal-to-liquids, carbon sequestration
Increase Focus On Energy Security. Shift federal priorities to emphasize issues of energy security, particularly at the Department of Energy.
Promote Nuclear Technology. Accelerate construction of new nuclear power plants in order to ensure that nuclear power continues to be a part of a robust, cleaner, and reliable energy mix.
Increase Domestic Production. Pursue our domestic sources of energy, drawing from our broad and diverse base of options, including opening ANWR to oil and natural gas development.
Mitt Romney for President 2008: He supports raising the cap on H1-B visas so that more workers with high tech skills can enter the country.
High school education and energy research will be a priority for a Romney administration.
There are no clear documents available to specify what a Romney administration will fund for areas of science other than energy research.
According to media reports (http://www.prioritiesnh.org/blog/?p=120) Gov. Romney will not reduce the US nuclear weapons stockpile due to the potential threat of Iran. On April 26, 2007 in New York (http://www.cfr.org/publication/13258/) he outlined a new international initiative that would make nuclear trafficking a crime against humanity, on par with genocide and war crimes. “Countries that want to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes should convene to reaffirm their commitment to non-proliferation” and the US should promote the development of an international uranium fuel bank.
Additional statement from from Mitt Romney’s web site http://www.mittromney.com/issues
The 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was meant to prevent countries from acquiring dangerous nuclear technologies and fissile materials such as plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU).
However, effective enforcement of this obligation is often lacking. Consequently, countries can ignore their obligations under the NPT with little fear of sanction or penalty. Given the unstable political and economic situation in many of these counties, there is the real possibility that these nuclear technologies, fissile materials, or even fully assembled nuclear weapons, could find their way to terrorists.
Moreover, the September 11th Commission reported that al-Qaeda had been trying to acquire or build nuclear weapons for well over a decade. Former CIA Director George Tenet said that Osama bin Laden sees the acquisition of WMD as a "religious obligation."
In response a Romney administration will:
Expanding And Accelerating Actions To Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, which was launched last year, was a good start. Yet our efforts need to be greatly accelerated and expanded. Combating the threat of nuclear terrorism needs to be a top Presidential priority.
Empowering A Senior Ambassador To Lead Efforts To Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. We should appoint a new Ambassador-at-Large to prevent nuclear terror. He or she would have the authority and resources needed to work across government agencies and departments to ensure that our strategies both here and abroad are coordinated.
Mitt Romney for President 2008: Mitt Romney believes that good teachers should be rewarded for their hard work and dedication to the important cause of educating our children. He will support performance-based pay and other initiatives that encourage our best teachers to teach in our highest-need schools.
A Romney adminstration will focus our efforts in fields like math and science, while promoting innovative approaches such as charter schools and public-private partnerships. Governor Romney will ensure that the workers of the future have the intellectual capital and skills they need to compete in the new global marketplace.
The New York Times: “I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe,” Mr. Romney said in an interview this week. “And I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”
He was asked: Is that intelligent design?
“I’m not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design,” he said. “But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body.”
While governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney opposed the teaching of intelligent design in science classes.
“In my opinion, the science class is where to teach evolution, or if there are other scientific thoughts that need to be discussed,” he said. “If we’re going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that’s for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies
class.”
ABC News: "If you want to believe that you and your family came from apes, I'll accept that....I believe there was a creative process."
Huckabee said he has no problem with teaching evolution as a theory in the public schools and he doesn't expect schools to teach creationism.
"We shouldn't indoctrinate kids in school," he said. "I wouldn't want them teaching creationism as if it's the only thing that they should teach."
Arkansas Times: The current NYC mayor spoke strongly in favor of teaching evolution in public school science classes saying, “It boggles the mind that nearly two centuries after Darwin, and 80 years after John Scopes was put on trial, the country is still debating the validity of evolution,” and adding, “This not only devalues science, it cheapens theology. As well as condemning these students to an inferior education, it ultimately hurts their professional opportunities.”
Given that Bloomberg ran on the Republican ticket with the former mayor’s endorsement, Giuliani was asked if he also supported Bloomberg’s strong stance in favor of evolution education. In a rather long response incorporating ideas such as “academic freedom” and “freedom of religion”, Giuliani eventually articulated that “Darwin’s theories are a very accepted part of science,” and added “I am a Christian, and I can accommodate that to my beliefs…”
Media Bistro: "It's not 'faith' if you are absolutely certain," Obama said, noting that he didn't believe his lack of "faith" would hurt him a national election. "Evolution is more grounded in my experience than angels."
CNN: Democrats discuss faith on CNN
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in evolution.
O’BRIEN: What do you say to all the people — and there are millions of people who go to church every Sunday and who are told very clearly by their pastors that, in fact, the Earth was created in six days, that it’s about creationism? Are those people wrong? Are their pastors wrong?
EDWARDS: No. First of all, I grew up in the church and I grew up as a Southern Baptist, was baptized in the Baptist Church when I was very young, a teenager at the time. And I was taught many of the same things. And I think it’s perfectly possible to make our faith, my faith belief system consistent with a recognition that there is real science out there and scientific evidence of evolution. I don’t think those things are inconsistent. I think a belief in God and a belief in Christ, in my case, is not in any way inconsistent with that.
O’BRIEN: There are some people who say, well, it’s actually — isn’t it mutually exclusive? I mean, either man was created by, you know, from Adam’s rib or, in fact, that man came evolution-wise from apes? Aren’t the two mutually exclusive?
EDWARDS: No, I don’t think they are. Because the hand of God was in every step of what’s happened with man. The hand of God today is in every step of what happens with me and every human being that exists on this planet.
The New York Times: Mrs. Clinton also tacitly criticized opponents of evolution. Some of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates have said flatly that they do not believe in evolution, while other Republican contenders have said they support teaching evolution, intelligent design and creationist ideas.
“I believe in evolution, and I am shocked at some of the things that people in public life have been saying,” Mrs. Clinton said in the interview. “I believe that our founders had faith in reason and they also had faith in God, and one of our gifts from God is the ability to reason.”
“I am grateful that I have the ability to look at dinosaur bones and draw my own conclusions,” she added, saying, too, that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is evidence that “evolution is going on as we speak.”
The Clinton attack on White House science policy is not especially new; Mrs. Clinton has used the phrase “war on science” frequently on the campaign trail, and it has reliably drawn applause from Democratic audiences.
Ron Paul 2008: The federal government has proven itself untrustworthy with environmental policy by facilitating polluters, subsidizing logging in the National Forests, and instituting one-size-fits-all approaches that too often discriminate against those they are intended to help.
The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights. The strict enforcement of property rights corrects environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting.
In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor's land, air, or water. If your property is being damaged, you have every right to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right. After paying damages, the polluter's production and sale costs rise, making it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way. Currently, preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their problems.
In Congress, I have followed a constitutional approach to environmental action:
* I consistently vote against using tax dollars to subsidize logging in National Forests.
* I am a co-sponsor of legislation designed to encourage the development of alternative and sustainable energy. H.R. 550 extends the investment tax credit to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, and H.R. 1772 provides tax credits for the installation of wind energy property.
* Taxpayers for Common Sense named me a "Treasury Guardian" for my work against environmentally-harmful government spending and corporate welfare.
* I am a member of the Congressional Green Scissors Coalition, a bipartisan caucus devoted to ending taxpayer subsidies of projects that harm the environment for the benefit of special interests.
Individuals, businesses, localities, and states must be free to negotiate environmental standards. Those who depend on the land for their health and livelihood have the greatest incentive to be responsible stewards.
The New York Times: Does not believe the government should play a major role; says there is no scientific consensus on global warming
I don't think everybody knows everything about global warming, because you have reputable scientists on both sides of that argument. ... [If the government were to play a role] then you have to deal with the volcanoes and you have to deal with the pollution of China. So, do you want to invade China to make sure they don't pollute? And what are you going to do about the volcanoes? They are all contributing factors to global warming. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do what we can to slow up the emissions and stop subsidizing big oil companies.
— "Real Time with Bill Maher," March 30, 2007
[Global warming] is a problem. The environments are always better taken care of with strict property rights. Under property rights, you are never allowed to pollute. ... What has happened in industrial revolution, big business and government got together and permitted pollution. You ought to be able to stop a neighbor from polluting your land immediately. Just like if your neighbor dumped garbage in your yard, you could call the policemen; that's the way you should have protection of water and air.
— In Iowa, May 3, 2007
Salon.com: What, if anything, do you think the government should do about global warming?
They should enforce the principles of private property so that we don't emit poisons and contribute to it.
And, if other countries are doing it, we should do our best to try to talk them out of doing what might be harmful. We can't use our army to go to China and dictate to China about the pollution that they may be contributing. You can only use persuasion.
Joe Biden for President: Strengthening Our Education System: Moving Toward A Sixteen Year System
Joe Biden would replace the 20th century 12-year school system with a 16-year system. He would start education earlier so that every parent who wants to can send their child to two years of preschool and make sure that students can afford at least two years of higher education.
As President, Joe Biden will add two years of pre-school to our public education system by:
* Fully funding Head Start and Early Head Start: Joe Biden would double the number of students in Head Start programs and quadruple the enrollment in Early Head Start.
* Providing grants to states to expand high quality state-funded preschool programs: Building on the current groundswell of support for preschool across the states, Joe Biden would provide $5 billion in grants to states to expand high quality public pr |