Legitimate Questions for Candidates

Source: "Science and God in the Election," by Donald Kennedy.
Science 4 January 2008: Vol. 319. no. 5859, p. 12

Donald Kennedy gives the following descriptions of questions that one may legitimately ask of candidates, accepting the separation of church and state, at the interface of science policy and religious belief:

The candidates should be asked hard questions about science policy, including questions about how those positions reflect belief. What is your view about stem cell research, and does it relate to a view of the time at which human life begins? Have you examined the scientific evidence regarding the age of Earth? Can the process of organic evolution lead to the production of new species, and how? Are you able to look at data on past climates in search of inferences about the future of climate change?.....

We need to know the candidates' qualifications for understanding and judging science, and for speaking intelligently about science and technology to the leaders of other nations in planning our collective global future. I don't need them to describe their faith; that's their business and not mine. But I do care about their scientific knowledge and how it will inform their leadership.

The issue contains information on the science, technology and innovation policy statements of the major candidates. Clinton and Obama come out pretty good. McCain not bad. Huckabee worries me.