channel to your
Palm
October 9 & 16, 2000
Special: U.S. Presidential Candidates'
Views on Science and Technology
Revised and extended through November 5
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channel to your Palm |
October 9 & 16, 2000 Special: U.S. Presidential Candidates' Views on Science and Technology Revised and extended through November 5 |
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Tidbit ArchiveLast Week's Tidbit -- Government, Democracy and the Internet
| Science and technology have traditionally been bipartisan issues
in the United States. Democrats and Republicans agree on the importance
of federal government support for basic research and R&D in pursuit
of government missions such as defense and agriculture. The parties
differ in their attitudes toward government funding of R&D to speed
the development of commercial technology, with Democrats usually advocating
a more activist federal role and Republicans preferring to rely more on
market mechanisms.
The positions of candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential campaign have more or less conformed to this pattern. Both have expressed strong support for basic research, particularly in medical research which has received large increases in recent years. Gore has nuanced his position by also emphasizing the need for balance in the federal research portfolio and endorsing a doubling of the National Science Foundation budget. Bush has tied his interest to his campaign's emphasis on improving education, by stressing the need to strengthen science and math curricula. Both candidates have stressed the importance of high tech industry and the "new (i.e., Internet-based) economy," spoken of the need for government policies to sustain their growth, and supported the R&D tax credit. The candidates part company on issues where S&T policies intersect other policy arenas in which the parties have taken different positions. These include anti-ballistic missile technologies, stem-cell research (because of its relationship to the abortion issue), and global climate change. Science and technology have seldom played an important role in electoral politics in the U.S. Nevertheless, as the place of high tech industry in the global economy has grown, so, too, has the prominence of S&T in campaign speeches, in platforms, and in strategies. For those with an interest in how S&T are playing out in the current U.S. Presidential race--and the outcome of this race has importance that obviously transcends America's borders-- this special double edition "Tidbit of the Week" brings together a wealth of resources that should provide a pretty good understanding of where the candidates stand on these matters. |
Links (see newly-added links at bottom of list):Official Campaign Site for Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman
Issues: Technology and Science
Agenda: Internet and TechnologyOfficial Campaign Site for George W. Bush and Richard Cheney
Issues: Technology and the New EconomyGore-Lieberman Economic Plan: Prosperity for America's Families. This is a large PDF file. The most relevant part is Chapter 11, "Innovation, Technology, and America's Prosperity."
Renewing America's Purpose: Policy Addresses of George W. Bush, July 1999- July 2000. Also a PDF file. The most relevant section is in Part IV, "Taking the Side of Innovation." There are also speeches on improving education through technology and improving science and math education in Part I.
2000 Democratic National Platform, adopted by the Democratic Party at its convention on August 15, 2000. Use your browser's "Find in Page" function for references to science and technology.
2000 Republican National Platform, adopted at the Republican Convention. See, especially, the section on "The American Dream."
Presidential Campaign Forum on Science and Technology sponsored by the Washington Science Policy Alliance and held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, October 5, 2000. David Beier, chief domestic policy advisor to the Vice President spoke for the Gore campaign. Robert Walker, chairman and CEO of the Wexler Group represented the Bush campaign. Joe Palca of National Public Radio served as moderator. I introduced the session. The forum was webcast. It has been archived and is available in both RealMedia and Windows Media.
"Presidential Candidates on Science Policy," Science, October 13, 2000 (advance copy). Detailed answers to questions posed by the editors, plus an editorial by editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy.
ZDNet Interview with George W. Bush, in which he discusses his views on technology as well as his personal familiarity with computers (by Lisa Bowman, June 21, 2000). Also, video of interview with Bush on which this article was based, from TechTV.
"Gore: Democracy is Like Napster," from ZDNet, September 28, 2000.
Issues 2000: Technology. Collected views of all the candidates on technology. The quotes are not all that enlightening, but this may be the only place to find out what Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, John Hagelin, and Ezola Foster (who?) have to say on these issues.
Additional Links:
"Where Bush and Gore Stand on Internet Issues," by Doug Isenberg, on Gigalaw.com. A long and informative article. Isenberg writes an Internet law column for Internet World magazine.
PalmPower Magazine Election 2000 Special Issue. Although the primary audience for this online magazine are users of Palm handheld computers, the articles in this issue include a number of more general interest, including an interview with Al Gore (who, in keeping with his geek image, reportedly keeps his Palm clipped to his belt).
Articles on the election from Wired News:
Bush: Gore is an "Analog" Guy (Oct. 19)
Gore Claims his Slice of Tech Pie (Oct. 17)
Prospective Veep's E-Book (Aug. 14)Endorsements of the candidates by technology and science leaders:
Gore 2000: Tech Community for Gore
"New Economy Leaders Endorse Governor Bush in San Jose Mercury News Ad Appearing Tuesday (Bush campaign press release)"
Scientists, Engineers and Mathematicians for Gore (online sign up form)
E-mail your tidbit suggestions to ateich@aaas.org.Search for more on information on the candidates and technology:
