Science, Politics and Policy in the Nixon Administration

Abstract

Let me briefly talk about science advising in the Nixon Administration. I will draw some conclusions from my experiences there. I have put these in the form of vignettes, brief accounts of events regarding such issues as politics versus science and engineering, also the representative aspect of the science advisor’s job, the ways of science and political thought and the differences, the lack of compatibility between science and politics, and the narrow line between intellectual integrity and political expediency. Then, too, I have some comments on Presidential attitudes toward science. Let me say that I will mention the names of several persons involved in such matters. But I don’t mean to criticize their honesty, integrity, or capabilities.