So Chris and Sheril have announced the next step in the journey to a real debate about science issues of note that intersect with the current political sphere. And they’ve come a long way in a short time! Here’s some of what they said in a recent post:
ScienceDebate2008 is now co-sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academies, and the Council on Competitiveness. We were looking at venues, and finally settled on an offer from the Philadelphia-based Franklin Institute–named, of course, after one of this country’s first and greatest scientists. We can’t think of a more appropriate venue.
And guess what?! They’ve actually invited the candidates: Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Barack Obama.
So the next step is to get the event (they suggest April 18, 2008) taken seriously by the press and the candidates, and this is where you come in. Take matters into your own hands and contact newspapers, the campaigns themselves, your friends, other bloggers, and so forth. Spread the word and try to generate interest in this! (You can find contact information for the campaigns, formletters, and so forth in their blog post.)
It would be just great if this happens. Fingers crossed for luck and spread the word!
-cvj
Pity… The Huckster would be entertaining….
-cvj
I once saw a speech where Huckabee said something on the lines of “I majored in miracles, not math.” So I guess we won’t be seeing him at least.
Yes, it will be interesting to watch and see… The interesting part will be the fact that they’ll also be keeping an eye on what the other candidates are doing (in the case where they are close, which only really applies to the two remaining Dems). Do you decline and give your opponent ammunition (“they did not want to debate me on science”)? So assuming that they don’t have a behind the scenes off-record conversation to give a unified “no”, it could be interesting to see the public decision that they make.
-cvj
Although I would love to see this happen, I fear that the candidates will pass. I suspect their advisers will say that this type of debate poses more risks than benefits to each of the candidates.
I guess we’ll see.
e.