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is pleased to announce

Innovation 2008

Today we released Innovation 2008: 14 Questions the candidates for President should answer about Science & America’s Future.

We started with more than 3,300 questions submitted by our 38,000 signers. We worked with 11 other organizations representing millions of voters to winnow them into the top 14 questions the candidates should answer. While there are many others, these 14 had the most common representation. They are broad enough to allow for wide variations in response, but they are specific enough to help guide the discussion toward many of the largest and most important unresolved challenges currently facing the United States.

We have submitted them to the campaigns and asked for written responses and for them to consider a broader, nationally televised forum for the general public.

We also made certain these 14 questions aligned with and contained as a subset the 7 congressional questions we codeveloped with our friends at Scientists and Engineers for America and 14 other organizations. This cooperative strategy has helped define the science agenda American voters need to hear about from their elected leaders.

To support the Presidential questions, Scientists and Engineers for America commissioned a poll on science and the election. It is published on our site, and it shows that voters are much more likely to vote for a candidate for President that will tackle America’s major science issues.

Now we need your help to propel this major effort forward. Please tell 5 people you know about this initiative and ask them to sign on. Blog about it, write about it, and call or write to your local paper and ask them to cover the 14 Questions of Innovation 2008. And of course, call, email, and write the campaigns. These questions are critical to the future of the United States. Politicians pay attention to voters and the press. By working together we can continue to make science and technology a more prominent part of the 2008 elections.

Please also contribute to support our ongoing citizens’ initiative to turn this country around.

-The Team at ScienceDebate2008.com