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Fly Fishing

> Scientific journal 'Nature' endorses Obama (as do I)

...science is bound by, and committed to, a set of normative values — values that have application to political questions. Placing a disinterested view of the world as it is ahead of our views of how it should be; recognizing that ideas should be tested in as systematic a way as possible; appreciating that there are experts whose views and criticisms need to be taken seriously: these are all attributes of good science that can be usefully applied when making decisions about the world of which science is but a part.

On a range of topics, science included, Obama has surrounded himself with a wider and more able cadre of advisers than McCain. ... The advice of experts is all the more valuable when it is diverse: 'groupthink' is a problem in any job. Obama seems to understands this. He tends to seek a range of opinions and analyses to ensure that his own opinion, when reached, has been well considered and exposed to alternatives. He also exhibits pragmatism — for example in his proposals for health-care reform — that suggests a keen sense for the tests reality can bring to bear on policy.

• Policy. McCain and Palin talk about buzzwords like 'maverick' instead of policy details, because none of their plans differ from Bush's in any meaningful way. We've had 8 years to experiment with their philosophy and the verdict is pretty clear.


• Personal finance. I'll pay lower taxes under Obama. Most readers here will, too, which means more people will have loose change to spend at fly shops, which improves my ad revenue on this website. I can't imagine how much fly shops are hurting, because they're barely spending half of what they were a year ago on advertising.


• Character. Obama is unshakeable. I can see McCain losing his temper and doing something rash in a crisis. Obama never acts without carefully considering the consequences.


• Inspiration matters. A President can't just offer good policies--he also has get them passed into law. A wave of public support is the best way to do that. Obama can make those waves. Inspiration will also matter if an unforeseen crisis requires the next President to call people to national service, military or civilian.


• Sarah Palin. She comes from the dangerous "ignorance is a virtue" side of the Republican party. She and McCain both mock important scientific studies as a waste of money. The other day she made fun of fruit fly research, which is like making fun of astronomers for looking into telescopes because the stars are up in the sky and not in that tube they're lookin' through. It bothered me on a more personal level because my girlfriend works with a similar "model organism," the nematode C. elegans, which is (like fruit flies) used to study fundamental genetics questions with tremendous applications to humanity. How dare some useless, phony bimbo from Wasilla (a town so backward, it was a punchline within Alaska before her nomination) belittle that kind of research.