Splicetoday

Politics & Media
Jan 16, 2009, 06:28AM

The Culture of Science

As President Bush's point man for science, John Marburger bore the brunt of a dissatisfied scientific community's complaints about the direction of science and its treatment by the United States government.

A rambling interview, of sorts, but with a notable passage:

Seed: Did you see President Bush ever change his mind based on the scientific evidence that you presented him?

JM: As far as I can tell, the president, as a matter of principle, doesn't think it's wise to defy nature. By the time I've arranged a presentation about something for the president, all science questions have been resolved. And he expects it. He would probably fire me if I permitted a science question to leak into his briefings. I'm there to make sure that his advisors and his agencies have consulted with the science community, and that all the science issues have been taken care of before anything gets to him.

 

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