ABSTRACT
The Cabinet member was sufficiently concerned about an Advisor playing such a role that he recommended that Science Advisors should be assigned to Cabinet-level departments instead. In practice, Philip Smith sees the Advisor as "a fourth-tier player in the hierarchy of the presidency". The Miller Center discussions also found discussants putting emphasis on the external environment as it affects science advising. As the central questions are posed about Science Advisors, they clearly fall broadly within the sphere of competence of political scientists, historians, and legal scholars who study the Presidency. Another way to view the question is to ask how does the President or any particular President conceives the role of science advising. Yet the central point is that the unique contribution of Presidential scholars is likely to be in the institutional and administrative areas. Foundations or academies with scientists as presidents should take note and be more responsive to the need for such studies.
