Americans, like citizens in countries throughout the world, have come to accept that politics plays an important role in the appointment of certain kinds of public officials. Few of us are surprised (though some may be disappointed) when a federal judgeship is awarded or a senior diplomat appointed because the candidate passes a litmus test of loyalty to some principle that is important to the President's or Prime Minister's party. But science, almost everyone agrees, is different, and here the United States is beginning to stand as a cautionary example to the rest of the world.
Americans, like citizens in countries throughout the world, have come to accept that politics plays an important role in the appointment of certain kinds of public officials. Few of us are surprised (though some may be disappointed) when a federal judgeship is awarded or a senior diplomat appointed because the candidate passes a litmus test of loyalty to some principle that is important to the President's or Prime Minister's party. But science, almost everyone agrees, is different, and here the United States is beginning to stand as a cautionary example to the rest of the world.