2008-10-17

The Candidates and Technology. By William J. Broad and Cornelia Dean, NYTimes, October 17, 2008. "For decades, the United States dominated the technological revolution sweeping the globe... Today, the dominance is eroding. In 2002, the nation's high-technology balance of trade went south, and it never came back. By 2007, the annual gap between high-tech exports and imports had grown to $53 billion. The gap this year is expected to be the largest ever -- approaching $60 billion... Senator John McCain... seeks to encourage innovation by cutting corporate taxes and ending what he calls 'burdensome regulations' that he says inhibit corporate investment... Barack Obama... looks to the federal government to finance science, math and engineering education and the kind of basic research that can produce valuable industrial spinoffs. The personal styles of the candidates also contrast. Mr. McCain says his leadership of the Senate commerce committee has versed him in technology issues, but he also jokes about his ignorance of personal computers and e-mail. Mr. Obama, an avid BlackBerry user... Mr. Obama embraces the theory of evolution and argues that the teaching of intelligent design and other creationist ideas 'cloud' a student's understanding of science. While Mr. McCain says he personally believes in evolution, he has also said children should be taught 'all points of view.'"

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