Helping the President

摘要

President obama's early strong statements about science, underscored by the outstanding team of scientific experts he has assembled and big bucks in the stimulus package, have been a breath of fresh air. Understandably, there is some temptation to rest easy and not worry about happenings in Washington, comforted by the thought that U. S. science and science policy are in good hands. This would be a huge mistake.rnLet me offer a few brief comments from the perspective of a former science adviser to President Clinton, who also understood the importance of science. I don't presume to tell the new science adviser, John Holdren, how to do his job. Rather, I want to share a few lessons I learned that might shed some light on the environment in which the science adviser operates, and suggest how the scientific community can be helpful in forging a strong science agenda for the nation.