“IT’S the economy, stupid!” So said Bill Clinton, encapsulating the defining issue of the 1992 presidential election. When the race between George W. Bush and John Kerry is decided on 2 November “it” could also be Iraq or homeland security.
Climate change, globalisation, the oil economy and the politicisation of science will not be setting the voting agenda. Perhaps they should, for these are issues where American money, influence and power can shape the world. They are the global issues a president can’t ignore.
“AT ITS birth two centuries ago, this republic was governed by men who had a deeper understanding of science than most of…
