Nature Endorses Obama

Updated: Disclaimer appears below. Link to journal endorsement is here.

This journal does not have a vote, and does not claim any particular standing from which to instruct those who do. But if it did, it would cast its vote for Barack Obama.

Politics impacts science. From which research emphases get funded to which school board member to vote for, science and politics often cross paths. PT’s supporters come from all walks of life and bring to the pro-evolution discussion opinions on other matters that span everything from conservative to liberal. To the extent possible, PT tries to avoid overtly being political, partly because we don’t want to needlessly alienate those supporters, but mainly because it’s beyond the charter of this website and that there are many other blogs that serve that purpose better than ours. Occasionally, though, this blog encounters a crossroads between science and politics, entailing posts that necessarily make political statements. This is one.

During this election, there is a difference between the candidates running for president. Palin is a creationist of the first water. Her disbelief that money spent in support of autism research was going to labs in France that used fruit fly models, reported at Pharyngula, speaks volumes.

At least from the standpoint of science advocacy and at least to this PT contributor, the decision during this election appears straightforward. Nature’s endorsement is timely and appropriate.

BCH

PS - And novel! According to this post from DailyKos.com, it would appear that this is first time Nature has endorsed a candidate.