As U.S. Innovation Lags, Let's Talk About Plumbing

In the final weeks before Nov. 4, the New York Times continues its helpful coverage of the candidates' policy positions and proposals. Today's topic: the innovation agenda. Though the article consumes an entire page of real estate, the take away is simple here, my friends: U.S. Sen. McCain's innovation agenda is very sorely lacking. U.S. Sen. Obama's is looking far better. A quick run down:

-In 1995, when McCain was chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, the U.S. trade balance of advanced technolgy products went into deficit for the first time. Advanced technology products are those that fall in the following categories: biotechnology, life science, opto-electronics, information and communications, electronics, flexible manufacturing, advanced materials, aerospace, weapons, and nuclear techology.

NDN would argue that ATPs represent America's comparative advantage in trade -- they are an outcome of our American ingenuity and innovation, and a relatively high-skilled workforce. Yet Sen. McCain held NO hearings on the ATP deficit.
 
-In 2003, When McCain was still Commerce chair, the National Academies of Science issued its influential report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm." The report basically said that other industrialized countries were outdoing America in research and development, patents, and math and science and education. The report sounded the alarm for America's leaders to take action. The New York Times gives no clue as to what Sen. McCain did about this, if anything. Meanwhile, right before he joined the Senate, Obama was meeting with Google folks and talking about an "innovation economy." In 2007, Sen. Obama joined other senators to introduce the America Competes bill, which built upon the recommendations of "The Gathering Storm." The Senate passed the bill 88 to 8. McCain abstained.

-As a presidential candidate, McCain has waffled on stem cell research. And he has no science advisor. His economic advisor services as his "point man" on science. By contrast, Obama has a science advisory committee headed by a Nobel laureate. 
 
-In response to a a survey by Science Debate 2008, a private group that tried to arrange a debate on science issues, McCain said this:

“I am uniquely qualified to lead our nation during this technological revolution,” he said in the survey response, pointing to his Navy experience with advanced technologies as well as his leadership on the Senate commerce committee. “Under my guiding hand,” he added, Congress developed a wireless spectrum policy that prompted the rapid rise of mobile phones and Wi-Fi technology.
 
My friends, I would agree that McCain is indeed "uniquely qualified to lead our nation during this technological revolution." Why? Because HE IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT AND IS A COMPUTER "ILLITERATE" !! That makes him supremely, scarily, uniquely qualifed to lead our nation on the bridge to nowhere.  McCain is simply not capable of envisioning America's economic future, one that isn't just about cutting earmarks, taking hatchets to budgets, and sidetracking the country in a discussion on the economic welfare of Joe the Plumber! What about our scientists who are doing cutting edge research, but who must spend hours upon hours begging for money from the NIH, the private sector, and angel investors. Sorry Joe, but these are the folks that can drive America to the next level of economic evolution, and I want to hear what our next president is going to do for them.