ABSTRACT
Gaggles of politicians and reporters can be seen feeding and calling in small Iowa towns. The tentative first crowings and preenings of candidates for next season's leader of the flock can be observed daily. Merely to ensure that the making and implementation of federal policy in matters involving science and technology are illuminated by the best available scientific and technological understanding. That is a tall order, because it covers most things the federal government is concerned with, whether people realize it or not. The Science Advisor must be able to make complex and uncertain matters understandable to whatever diverse audience our citizens choose to install in the White House and on the Hill. Most important of all, the Science Advisor must be seen as credible and trustworthy by his/her boss and the boss's closest associates. This criterion is, perhaps, the most difficult of all to satisfy. This intrinsic positioning difficulty cannot be surmounted by redrawing the White House organization chart.
