Dear Candidate,
The weekly PBS television broadcasts NOW on PBS and NOVA, the PBS science series, along with Public Television Stations KOPB (Portland, OR), WNET (New York) and WGBH (Boston), together with Science Debate 2008, representing the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Council on Competitiveness would like to invite you to participate in
Is America Losing its Competitive Edge? A Presidential Debate on the role of Science in America’s Future,
a nationally televised event currently being planned for Portland State University, Portland, Oregon on the evening of Friday, May 2, May 9, or May 16.
We will broadcast even if only one candidate confirms, and we will publicize who confirmed first, so this could be a major win for your candidate with these communities both nationally and in Oregon, whose economy is dominated by the tech industry and whose largest employer is Intel, whose Chairman is one of the supporters of this initiative.
The moderator for the event will be David Brancaccio, the host of NOW on PBS, with a panel of internationally recognized scientists selected by the organizers, Science Debate 2008.
The idea for A President Debate on the role of Science in Americas Future is a national, non-partisan discussion endorsed by most of the American science, academic, medical and technology communities, Including thousands of major business leaders, university presidents, Nobel laureates, scientists, and journalists. Please visit here for a detailed list.
This is not a science quiz; it is intended as a serious policy debate about several major issues Americans are concerned with that fall along this theme, including climate change, economic competitiveness in the new global knowledge economy, energy security and sustainability, health and medicine, science education, and other related issues. We will give all confirmed candidates a copy of the anticipated questions five days in advance so that you may prepare. These are some of the most important challenges the next president is going to be facing, and we would hope that your candidate has plans for tackling them already. The voters are highly interested to see what they are, and how your candidate differs, or does not differ, from the others.
Please feel free to have your staff contact me if you are interested in exploring the logistics of this further.
Best Regards,
Shawn Lawrence Otto
On behalf of the Steering Committee and the Signers of Science Debate 2008