News and Views From my kids accomplishments, to my heretical perspective of the world

Nature magazine recently published an article that analyzed the position on and approach towards science of the two major party presidential candidates.

As one excerpt, it’s interesting to compare Obama’s Science and Technology team of advisers with McCain’s:

Obama’s:
Dan Kammen, University of California, Berkeley
Don Lamb, University of Chicago
Gil Omenn, University of Michigan
Henry Kelly, President, Federation of American Scientists
Sharon Long, Stanford University
Jason Grumet, Bipartisan Policy Center
Harold Varmus, (Nobel) Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

McCain’s:
James Schlesinger, Former secretary of defense
James Woolsey, Former Central Intelligence Agency director
Robert McFarlane, Former national security adviser
Carly Fiorina, Former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard
Meg Whitman, Former chief executive of eBay

On the one hand we have real scientists. On the other hand, former CIA agents and former CEOs.

Last night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart asked why they won’t let Sarah Palin talk with the press? What could a Vice Presidential candidate possibly say that could hurt them?

Then he cut to Joe Biden telling about how Franklin Roosevelt got on television after the stock market crash to calm the nation.

Ouch! Two mistakes in one statement. Roosevelt wasn’t in office when the stock market crashed, and there was really no television until well after he was gone.

But I bet Sarah could match that if they would give her a chance.

In an editorial published today, arch-conservative George Will said:

“It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?”

The article is focused specifically on McCain’s reaction to the financial crisis, but calls it a “harbinger” of a McCain presidency: “For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are “corrupt” or “betray the public’s trust,” two categories that seem to be exhaustive — there are no other people.”

To be fair, Will as recently as August 24 talked about “Obama’s Economic Fairytale“, so he hasn’t developed a “crush on Obama”. He’s clearly still in the conservative camp, but it’s refreshing to hear anybody on either side criticizing their own candidate.

Who knows, maybe next we’ll hear Jon Stewart or Maureen Dowd belittling Obama! (Don’t wait up for it!)

This is a bi-partisan plea. Both Obama’s and McCain’s campaign’s continue to release ads with lies and half-truths.

McCain keeps insisting that Obama plans to raise taxes on the middle class, which is untrue.

Obama says that McCain wants to cut Social Security benefits in half, which is not true.

McCain runs an ad stating that Obama was being disrespectful of Palin, calling her a “pig”, dismissing her as “good looking”, and just “doing what she was told”. All false and based on statements totally out of context.

Obama keeps referring to McCain’s joke that making $5 million was the definition of “rich”, as if it were a policy statement.

McCain claims that Obama wants to teach comprehensive sex education to kindergartners, when the bill actually focused on teaching them how to avoid sex predators.

An Obama ad running in Michigan says that McCain refused to support loan guarantees for the auto industry, which had been true, but McCain changed his position long before this ad came out.

Come on, guys! I don’t expect you to always say nice things about each other, but let’s try to keep a little closer to the truth! It makes you both look bad.

A couple of days ago, Bill O’Reilly (Fox) talked about the Palin daughter’s pregnancy, saying: “It is a personal matter… It is true some Americans will judge Sarah Palin’s family… We hope things calm down,”

A reasonable position.

But back in December, talking about Brittany Spears’ 16-year old sister’s pregnancy, he said, “…the blame falls primarily on the girl’s parents.” And he has a picture of the parents with the word “Pinheads” underneath. Wasn’t this a “personal matter” too?

See it here.

Imagine that, a guy gets a law degree, his total political experience is to serve 8 years on the Illinois State Legislature, then one term in the US Congress, and then he has the audacity to think he’s ready to be president. How ridiculous! Sure, he delivers a good speech, but he really should get a few years more experience before he takes on such an important position. Imagine the audacity of that Abraham Lincoln guy!