ABSTRACT
Science advice for the highest levels of government — namely, the President and his immediate staff — has become topical again, as the Presidential election looms. The current mechanism is in question. Many people believe that scientific and engineering factors should play a larger role in Presidential decision-making, and that the current mechanism is not serving well. The White House is certainly "where science and politics meet". Indeed, this was the title of Jerome Wiesner's book, published after his stint as Science Advisor to the President. Science and politics may meet in the White House, but they do not mix well. Even if science advice were kept out of the political rough-and-tumble, its function is much different today than it was fifteen years ago. The issues today are different, focused more on commercial competitiveness, primary and secondary education, and engineering, including manufacturing and design, and less on national security.
