I caught Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science, on last night's Colbert Report. The interview, spurred by Obama's figurative fist-pound to science, "We will restore science to its rightful place," was brief but poignant. Mooney intelligently discusses how difficult the last eight years have been for scientists with the Bush administration "systematically undermining scientific knowledge on a lot of different issues that had that had a lot of policy implications: global warming, stem cell research”; clouding issues like global warming, and preventing scientists from speaking to the media. With those eight years behind us, Mooney declares that the scientists have won the war, for now.

The hope and joy in the science community birthed by those eight words on January 20th is evidence of how starved it has been by the politics of the previous administration. The Obama administration plans on using scientific and technological innovations to spur present and future economic growth. Stephen Colbert demands Mooney to “sell” science to him, to which Mooney asks if he cares about the future of the American economy. Colbert, with his trademark satirical wit, replies “as long as I’m alive,” displaying the shortsighted attitude that has been prominent in the past eight years. Thus far, Obama seems to have the foresight to put government funding into science research that will yield positive economic results in the present and the future. Colbert questions Mooney about what Obama will do differently, and in my favorite part of the interview, Mooney simply replies that he’s going to listen, even when it’s inconvenient.

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