Barack Obama may have an impossible burden of expectation on his shoulders, but one fervent wish of many US scientists should be easy enough to fulfil: simply lead the nation back into the .
That phrase, famously used by a senior adviser to George W. Bush in a , epitomised the Bush administration鈥檚 contempt for those who 鈥渂elieve that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality鈥�: that is from observation rather than ideology.
Instead, the Bush White House boasted of creating its own reality, and had little time for research that questioned its policies, leading to what some observers characterised as a 鈥渨ar on science鈥�. Many top scientific jobs were filled by ideologues, and empirical evidence was ignored or distorted in order to bolster policies such as inaction on global warming, a reluctance to list species as endangered, and an approach to HIV that focused on sexual abstinence.
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Scientists were prominent among those cheering Obama鈥檚 election victory on 4 November. A clear sign of the president-elect鈥檚 new direction came two weeks later to a in Beverly Hills, California. 鈥淭he science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淒elay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high; the consequences too serious.鈥�
No one is predicting a new golden age for science. Money will be tight, and researchers will have to prove their projects鈥� worth. Obama now has to back up his fine words on respecting scientific evidence by making well-chosen appointments, especially to the key job of director of the , who serves as the president鈥檚 science adviser. After Bush was elected in 2000, the post languished unfilled for 10 months 鈥� initially because science was low on the president鈥檚 list of priorities, and later because it was hard to find a qualified scientist willing to take the job.
Obama can send out a strong signal by appointing a science adviser quickly 鈥� and admitting that person into his inner political circle. 鈥淏efore the inauguration would be best, or soon after would be reasonable,鈥� says Lesley Stone, executive director of the pressure group .
