Go ahead. Watch this video, and try to imagine our former President saying these words. I dare you.
I think he’s serious, and I think he’ll make sure these words become reality. But it’s up to us to hold him to his promises.
Tip o’ the lab coat to PZ.
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The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking, movie reviews, and all that) can be found here.
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February 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
and try to imagine our former President
There, there, Phil. Shhhhh… Go to your happy place. Bush is gone. Let it go. (whispering) Let it go.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Do you think the previous guy had the vocabulary to even say those words?
February 16th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
What happened to the evil Bush fascist theocracy that Klein et al. told us was going to be instituted come November 2008?
February 16th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
You sure are lucky to have such a president (yeah, I know, it’s just the beginning of his term, but still)
February 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I certainly hope this is true and not just empty words. Our best investment in America has always been NASA. I certainly hope that if President Obama believes this, he starts by giving NASA more cash and freedom to innovate and creates a interest in space other then the shuttle. The shuttle is science, but Joe Six Pack would never take the time to study the impact of the shuttle missions. They are the ones that complain to their pandering congress rep and then we have a repeat of the 70′s and 80′s.
We should have a Space Stimulus plan. Americans had a ton of pride in the scientific advancements that we made in the pursuit of space in the 60′s and early 70′s. It was tangible and measurable by non-science minded folks.
Let’s get back to the Moon! and beyond….
February 16th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
@Jimmy Ray: Without another cold war, it’ll never happen.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Well, the public scientific fervor of the 60′s and 70′s, anyway.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Speaking of hope for science, I just received this email from a colleague at Oklahoma State:
Hopefully this will end it, but I wouldn’t be on it.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Hope for science | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
I certainly hope that if President Obama believes this, he starts by giving NASA more cash and freedom to innovate and creates a interest in space other then the shuttle. The shuttle is science, but Joe Six Pack would never take the …
February 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I mean, I wouldn’t BET on it.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Well frak, I REALLY wish I could share your optimism. But in all honesty, can you name ONE president who ended up implementing even a 1/10th of the things he promised? I really hope that what Obama is saying is true, but the evidence says otherwise.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Trying to imagine Bush saying this caused me to have a brain hemorrhoid. I’ll send you the bill.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Brain HEMORRHOID???
February 16th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Vic Hutchinson has some more info on the death of SB 320 over at John Lynch’s blog:
http://scienceblogs.com/strangerfruit/2009/02/sb_320_dies_1.php#commentsArea
February 16th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Soooo…trust, but verify?
I’m feeling optimistic about Obama. Well, I’m feeling that the government is being run by slightly less autocratic elements now who will at least pretend a bit harder to listen to people at my level as they take their real marching orders from the corporate hegemony. I guess that could be called optimism.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I think he was trying to emphasize his correction of an earlier typo.
“but I wouldn’t be on it”
February 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
“we needed …. leaders who invested in scientific progress”
That makes it sound like JFK paid for the Apollo project out of his own pocket.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Nerd! (I love our new president.)
February 16th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
“Tip o’ the lab coat”
OK, that was funny.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Wow, that is really really heartening. Congratulations on a good choice!
February 16th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
More empty words from an empty suit. He’ll be off of science the second his polsters find joe six pack doesn’t care. There is no passion from Obama, only calculation. And I know, that can be a good thing, but in the white house it is not. I’m surprised that with the breadth of knowledge on this site that more BAddies aren’t tired of this type of rhetoric. I know we want to be inspired, but we’ve been lead down this road many times and its getting old. Come on, the guy is full of it. Ask him about the all knowing man in the sky and his belief will parallel Bush.
Be worried by how he makes the comparison between the Apollo mission to changing America’s energy grid (not in this particular clip however). Confusing apples with oranges doesn’t promote anything.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
“respected the integrity of the scientific process” – I think I’m a little bit in love @.@
You know, I’m actually feeling a bit of hope for the future? And I’m not even American!
February 16th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Yes, he can read from a teleprompter really well. Is that how you judge a President?
February 16th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Do I get a prize for daring to watch it?
The speeches are nice, but he needs to use his abilities as president to get things happening. I don’t see how the public can support him except to nag their members of congress to support the president when he actually comes up with something concrete.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Hopefully, President Obama will take his cue from scientists like Bob Park and Steven Weinberg and deemphasize the manned space program. But of course, we know that Prof. Park and Prof. Weinberg don’t know what they are talking about.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I hope this guy actually follows through on his statements. If all politics since the Revolution are any indication, he won’t, but I guess there’s still a little bit of hope.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
How about a transcript for those of us to whom audio is uninformative?
February 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Yep. I can imagine the previous president saying things that he feels will excite his base of support. They wouldn’t be the same words, but they’d have about the same chance of being enacted the way that base of support imagined it. They’re both politicians. It’s what they do.
I remain hopeful, though the last two weeks of ‘stimulus’ didn’t help my hopefulness.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Well, the proof will be in his actions, but Great Jumpin’ Spaghetti Monster that was a refreshing bit of speech making!
Let us hope we actually have a president who will stand up to the Religious Right and tell them to go pound sand. Let’s hope.
February 16th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
@Ray: about your dripping-with-sarcasm “teleprompter” comment: Did you even read Phil’s comments about the video? Any of those 5 sentences? Cuz they directly relate to your little snide comment. Nice try at being antagonistic, though.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
When I hear him say these things then I know that this is the way it should be, the way I would make things to be.
If these really are his ideals and goals,then he would be the first president (of any country) to truly represent me and my opinions.
I am skeptical that it will be that way though. To many disappointments in my short life so far.
But, if he can really pull this off, if he will keep his promises, if he will have the support in the government and the people that he needs, then this great nation will prosper once more and excell every other nation on this planet once more. It will be a carrier of hope for the rest of the world again. If…
Oh… I am not from the US, btw… But, gee, that man sure knows how to move me.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Holastefan,
You mean he’s not reading from a teleprompter? Or do you mean he didn’t do it well?
Nice try for you as well. Trying to read into what I wrote beyond the words themselves is a fool’s errand.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Ray, if it were the only criterion, he would still be an improvement over Bush!
February 16th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Nice words to be sure…of course the open question is how well this will done in the coming years. But really, the previous guy would not have pulled this off.
And that video should be required viewing by Ben Stein. Probably would blow his mind.
February 16th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Daffy,
I’ve never said Bush was a great President, but ranking Obama this early based on pretty speeches is not very intelligent. You’d think that scientists would know better than to let such obvious bias into their reasoning.
February 16th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
RE: brain hemmoroid
Wonder if that’s what the one prisoner in HANCOCK suffered from….
J/P=?
February 16th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Nice words but the question is will he keep his promises?
February 16th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Well, Phil, you certainly are the optimist. Have a look through here…
http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state
Perhaps all those NASA resources are hiding in one of the thousands of projects in Porkulus I. But hang tough and don’t be sad if they aren’t – we can’t be more than 4 months away from Porkulus II. To paraphrase the late Sen. Dirkson, “A trillion here and a trillion there, and before you know it, you’re talking serious money.”
Seriously, unless NASA has a large, unregistered voting block stashed away somewhere, lip service is the best they can hope for.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Hope for science is good, but is there hope for liberty, or privacy? The guy ought to narrate for the History Channel when he’s done with this job!
February 16th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
@Squer: Here is a transcript of Obama’s address.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/20/transcript-president-elect-barack-obamas-radio-address/
Now THIS is why I voted for him! Well, one of the reasons…Obama seems to get what science is about. McCain made fun of what he called an “overhead projector”, which was really a planetarium projector, and Palin actually had the gall to oppose funding fruit fly research (specifically fruit fly research in Paris, France—bunch of cheese-eating surrender monkeys, doncha know?)
February 16th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Very interesting. Yea, your former president wasn’t even sure what science was.
Being in Canada, I sort of followed your election and didn’t really see why everyone was so taken by Barack Obama. Then I happened to watch his “yes we can” speech and wow, I got teary-eyed. Can he also run for Prime Minister up here? ; D
February 16th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Here’s the direct link to change.gov’s complete version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMlXNrBxM0g
February 16th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
all the science in the world ain’t worth a hill of beans if we have a weakened dollar and runaway inflation and soaring interest rates. Defect spending is the worst thing a nation can do and has never worked, (except for war time economies) We all know that 50% or more of this money will be swallowed up by greedy individuals and organizations never to be used for real progress, the majority of the rest will get lost in the bureaucracy.
We could fund science by cutting wasteful government programs, opening up sites for local drilling and mining operations, and offering additional Pel Grants and low or no interest loans to those who pursue a career in the hard sciences.
You can never spend your way out of debt, imagine being $100,000 in debt and deciding to spend $50,000 on a BMW because you need a car to get to work to pay off your old debt.
February 16th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
@LukeL
you’re frakked if you do and frakked if you don’t.
February 16th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
If we do that, we would get a headache from all the cognitive dissonance.
February 16th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
“try to imagine our former President saying these words. I dare you.”
Ok, how’s this?
Remarks by the President in Presentation of 2005 and 2006 National Medals of Science and Technology-
“From the earliest days, we have been a nation of innovators — people who look at challenges, and find creative ways to adapt and improve. There’s been some interesting examples of that attitude right here in the East Room. For example, Abigail Adams needed a place to hang her clothes, so she innovated and converted the East Room into a White House laundry room. Or Theodore Roosevelt used the East Room as a roller skating rink for his children. Gerald Ford’s daughter, Susan, used this very room as the site of her high school prom, which was well attended, I might add. (Laughter.)
This afternoon, the East Room is home to innovators of a different kind — some of our finest science and technology leaders. The men and women we salute have been recognized with countless honors, including the Nobel Prize. They have served as leaders of major research foundations, university presidents, directors of government agencies, and heads of academic departments. And now they add to their deep and remarkable resumes the highest award a President can confer in their fields, the National Medals of Science and Technology. And I congratulate you.
The intellectual achievements of these men and women are momentous. In a single room, we have thinkers who helped formulate and refine the Big Bang theory of the universe, the “bootstrap re-sampling technique” of statistics, the algebraic K-theory of mathematics. I’m going to play like I understand what all that means. (Laughter.) We have experts in fields like organometallic chemistry, atomic physics, and neurobiology. We have researchers who have drilled into glaciers, isolated the DNA of mobile genes, and pioneered the distributed feedback laser. In other words, we’ve got some smart people here. (Laughter.) And we’re glad you’re Americans. (Applause.)
Each of our Laureates has deepened our understanding of the world, and many have directly changed our lives. Their discoveries have led to hopeful treatments for HIV/AIDS, new vaccines to prevent childhood illnesses, safer drinking water around the world. Innovations are responsible for the CD players in our homes, the guardrails on our highways, the stealth fighters in our Air Force. Their breakthroughs have helped make it possible for burn victims to heal with fewer scars, and older people to hear more clearly, businesses to e-mail documents around the world, and doctors to administer medicine without needles. That’s a much welcome change for a lot of us.
Whatever their chosen field, the National Laureates in Science and Technology have brought great credit to themselves and this country. And you have the gratitude of the American people. And that’s what we’re here to tell you today.
The work of these Laureates demonstrates that innovation is vital to a better future for our country and the world. In America, the primary engine of innovation is the private sector. But government can help by encouraging the basic research that gives rise to promising new thought and products. So that’s why I’ve worked with some in this room and around our country to develop and propose the American Competitiveness Initiative. Over ten years, this initiative will double the federal government’s commitment to the most critical, basic research programs in physical sciences. Last year the Congress provided more than $10 billion, and that’s just a start. And I call on leaders of both political parties to fully fund this initiative for the good of the country.”
blah blah blah…….
Hope! also, Change!
February 17th, 2009 at 12:09 am
It must be hard being a right-wing conservative these days. I can sense the frustration in every post they make. They are hoping like crazy that everything Obama does fails. It’s pretty pathetic.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:00 am
They are hoping like crazy that everything Obama does fails. It’s pretty pathetic.
Some of us have been making the same point while Bush was president that we will while Obama is president. And frankly, the last thing this non-leftist wants to see is an Obama failure any more than I wanted to see Bush fail. That’s a lose-lose for me either way.
What bothers ME is that people think that the problem is any different now that Obama is president.
Not only do think that it is NOT any different, but I’m afraid that the end result will be WORSE.
February 17th, 2009 at 2:12 am
We live in very interesting times after all. I never belived I could hear the president of the USA talking like this, saying what he says …
February 17th, 2009 at 2:21 am
I hope Obama supports the Sciences but aside from a few campaign stops where he changed his position from a very strange point of view where NASA had to tie everything to eduction to one more in Line with what Bush had been pushing since 2002. I don’t think he cares about this issue but it sounds good and lets be honest sell stuff is what he does best. Not to say he isn’t smart but he has set up a very Republican style of White House where there is more delegation and less hands on. Which is more common with Democratic presidents.
Lucky for us the Florida Delegation, and some from Texas are interested in getting reelected and are making sure NASA is getting money. God Bless self interest.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Beelzebud,
“It must be hard being a right-wing conservative these days. I can sense the frustration in every post they make. They are hoping like crazy that everything Obama does fails. It’s pretty pathetic.”
I don’t want to start a flame war, but it should be noted that Lieberals hoped like crazy that Bush would fail too. Its called Politics.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Ray, there was no hope involved. We watched the eight-year long train wreck happen with dismay.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Well, unless someone can point out otherwise, I think its fair to say that Bush did fail. He didn’t win the war on terror, didn’t end the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, didn’t improve the economy (the argument can be made that most of the growth over the last eight years was mostly illusionary), and certainly didn’t accomplish the majority of what he wanted to do domesticly
At this point, I’m willing to give Barack the benefit of the doubt & hope that he will make good on trying to make some fundamental changes to the way government operates currently.
February 17th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Tman, bravo.
February 17th, 2009 at 7:28 am
“I don’t want to start a flame war, but it should be noted that Lieberals hoped like crazy that Bush would fail too. Its called Politics.”
Bull. Not like this…you didn’t have “liberal” media commentators all over the country openly calling for Bush’s failure 2 weeks into his presidency. I am 53 years old, and in my lifetime I have NEVER seen this level of unreasoned hatred of a new president. The reason is obvious: Republicans finally got the power they craved and very nearly destroyed the country with it. Now they are panicked, looking for someone, anyone to blame.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am
During President Obama’s press conference last week, my husband and I sat there laughing every time he said the word “nuclear”– we kept picturing Bush screaming at the television, “PRONUNCIATE IT CORRECTLY!!! It’s NOO-COO-LER!!!”
February 17th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I’m really worried about the tone that’s coming from the hard right wing towards Obama (I was going to say Republicans but hard right wing is a narrower and better generalization). I would include the stuff Palin said during the campaning in this. Some nutjob somewhere is going to be pushed by this talk to act. I hope it doesn’t happen but it only takes one nutjob to do it.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Keith,
I forget what the rules are in Canada for being prime minister. Do you have to be born there? If not, Obama is still young, he should go to canada he’s done here
February 17th, 2009 at 9:37 am
ND,
I am worried about that too. There is a very large segment of our population who are very frightened that everything they have stood for may be proved wrong…and a frightened person is capable of anything. Especially with disgusting “commentators” like Rush Limbaugh fanning the flames.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Park and Weinberg have their ideas based on cost effectiveness. For purposes of basic exploration, machines are more cost effective and disposable than humans however, for really in depth research, there’s nothing like having a human brain and opposable thumbs on site. Granted, at our present level of technological expertise, humans in space are an expensive investment but as our capabilities expand it will get easier. One should note that the only real drawback to human space presence is the need to provide air, water and food, as well as the physical degeneration associated with the micro G environment and potential radiation damage,,,
1) As far as bone decalcification in orbit is concerned, you might want to check this link about bear parathyroid hormone
http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/feb/15/why-dont-hibernating-bears-get-osteoporosis/
(,,,or we could just use spinning space colonies to provide simulated G force.)
2) Radiation resistance might be something we can borrow from staphylococcus radiofurans, which happily reproduces in an environment 200 times more deadly that the lethal radiation dose for humans.
3) Or we could just shield our space craft in polyethylene, which provides excellent protection from radiation.( three meters of asteroidal rock works quite well, too,,,)
4) Air (extracted from minerals), food (grown in high density space farms), water (derived from magnetically captured solar wind or comets or also from lunar/asteroidal minerals) would solve this problem.
5) MAny environmentalists have noted that the current human population(approaching 7 billion) is degrading the ecosystem faster than it can regenerate. Some analyses suggest the maximum population our old earth can safely support is around 2 billion. Unless some bio-terrorist decimates the world population by 75%, we’re in a situation where our success at surviving has as its’ ultimate cost, eco-collapse. Granted, that would likely take several hundred years but in the same time frame, if we really want to do the job, billions of humans could be relocated to high orbit, along with several million support species of flora and fauna,,,
Would it be expensive? DUH!!! but expense is relative. With a space economy of several hundred trillion dollars/year(I’m projecting annual growth at 4 %, though it could be higher) a few hundred trillion dollars spent over the next 300 years to move people and critters into space, build space colonies to house them, etc, would likely be seen in retrospect as peanuts. We’re talking really long term survival here and what price survival???
Some of what Parks said seemed to make sense,,,some of it was just sour grapes. He’s older than me and seems to have lost his enthusiasm for life and adventure. Bummer! Hope I never get that old,,,Intellectually, I mean,,,
GAry 7
February 17th, 2009 at 11:07 am
So, what’s with the popup at the end of the video that’s labeled “Barack Obama’s Atheistic Education”?
February 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
@TMan
Wow, he praised science while administering the medal of science. Thats clearly genuine.
This is from Obamas third weekly address as the president elect, he could have talked about anything he wanted, he could have talked about anything from Iraq to Jebus. But he chose to talk about science, and he absolutely nailed it. When it comes to science, Obama has given every indication that he gets it, from his speeches, to his policy so far (stem cell research for example) he has demonstrated that he has his scientific priorities straight.
Give it up, Bush failed the scientific community, and therefore failed to contribute to the innovation he claims to praise. So please, please, just give it up.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Well, Obama’s been in office for almost a month now, and he still hasn’t fixed the economy, or health care, or public education. What’s more, he hasn’t gotten us out of Iraq, captured OBL, or reconciled the Israelis and Palestinians. Stick a fork in him — he’s done.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Neill Raper,
Wow, he praised science while administering the medal of science.
No, he proposed an initiative – The American Competitiveness Initiative. As he said at the time,
“Over ten years, this initiative will double the federal government’s commitment to the most critical, basic research programs in physical sciences.”
Barack Obama by all appearances is a smart guy, and I’m glad that we have a smart guy as president. But contrary to the over-the-top leftists, Bush was not an idiot himself. And his efforts both at NASA and with other public scientific endeavors was never something to be ashamed of. Probably one of the best things Bush did for science was appoint Judge John E. Jones III to the bench, the judge who presided over Kitzmiller vs. Dover.
Those of you who think that the guy in charge now is going to THAT much different than what we’ve had in the past are for a very rude awakening over the next few years. The same idiots are still in charge of Congress, and the same problems that existed under Bush in terms of scientific progress are not going to be any less constrained under Obama. Those who think otherwise are foolish and naiive at best, horribly uninformed at worst.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
@Tman, appointing Judge Jones was political and his ruling was based on the fact the ID was basically creationism repackaged and therefore religion and was not allowed in the classroom.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
David,
appointing Judge Jones was political and his ruling was based on the fact the ID was basically creationism repackaged and therefore religion and was not allowed in the classroom
You’re leaving out the best part, which is that a federal judge established a precedent that states that teaching ID violates the establishment clause. ID’ers were set back from a constitutional standpoint in very important ways. The only way they attack now is at the state level since each federal judge will simply rely on Judge Jones ruling before they turn away any further constitutional challenge.
Judge Jones is a hero of science as far as I’m concerned, and I have Bush to thank for appointing him.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
If Bush and his supporters were so pro-science how did IDers get so far in first place.
As for Judge Jones, he is remarkable man for seeing what the evidence was showing him and worthy of his position.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
He seems genuine, and it is comforting to hear the president say some things that I agree with for a change.
As a side note, I have noticed that some people I know have abandoned their skeptic/rationalist principles now that Bush isn’t in power. These people are saying, “mean old Republicans won’t let Obama pass the economic recovery plan”. I mean, is everyone sure that all $1 trillion is money well spent? Do we even know if his plan will work at all?
I like Obama, but I am distressed by how some so-called skeptics are actually dogmatic Democrats.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:29 am
[...] spot-on and very interesting talk on bad media), I discovered this short speech of him (via Phil Plait) that really demonstrates his philosophy. Within this last month, there have also been some more [...]
February 19th, 2009 at 6:13 am
@Davidlpf,
“If Bush and his supporters were so pro-science how did IDers get so far in first place.”
This may come as a shock, but a president is not a king nor a god.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Someone did seem to forget that for a while, though. To give him his due, though, he remembered by 20/1.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
[...] Overhead Products Presentation: Infocus LP500 DLP Video Projector [...]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Excellent post Phil. For eight (long) years W was not exactly a great ambassador for science in the US. On that we can certainly agree.
It saddens me that W left our country on the brink of bankruptcy (due to multiple factors incl banking/financial/Wall St deregulation and that 2 T $ excursion into Iraq that he never paid for). What Obama could have done with NASA if he had came in after Clinton with a budget surplus…
PS. I think Hubble is one of the greatest American contributions to the world in the last 30 years. When it reaches the end of its operational life, are there plans for another or something similar to be launched?