At the 2nd Annual Science Blogging Conference held a few weeks ago, fellow Scibling Chris Mooney mentioned that there was some news about Science Debate 2008 to get excited about, although he wouldn't tip his hand as to what that news might be. Now the cat is out of the bag; Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Barack Obama have all been invited to participate in a debate scheduled for this coming April at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
The candidates still have to respond to the invitation and there is a lot of work to do, but I have to admit that the initiative is a lot closer to success than I had anticipated. You can find more details about what you can do to help at the Intersection, and you can find a press release (with links to the invitations) here.
"The candidates still have to respond to the invitation". . . .
Indeed. While I have been generally optimistic about the effects this debate could have, there comes a point where my optimism bottoms out.
On balance, I must confess myself mildly entertained by the phalanx of Ron Paul supporters descending upon The Intersection. It is, briefly put, a spectacle.