Bart Gordon, New Chair of US House of Representatives Science Panel Comments on the Bush "Scientific Team". January 22, 2007  

    The November 16 issue of the journal Nature carried an interview by Emma Maris of the incoming chair of the House Committee on Science Democrat Bart Gordon of Tennessee.

Bart Gordon, Chair House Science Panel Photo: Tom Williams

     
Now in its January 5 issue Science catches up with Bart Gordon and among other matters asks him to comment on President Bush's "scientific team".

I think NASA Administrator [Michael] Griffin is certainly one [of the most impressive]. Partly because who he followed [Sean O'Keefe], and partly because

 he is both knowledgeable and candid. We don't always agree, but you know you'll get a honest, from-the-gut assessment. We don't always get that.

 

Having said that, however, I think that this is a top-down Administration, and there's a lot of pressure from the top down to make the conclusions match the preconceived notions of the Administration. … I think that [presidential science adviser John] Marburger would say that he hasn't been constrained. But I think we need to look into that more. I think he's an honorable and capable man. But he's under a lot of pressure, too.

Not much has to be changed in the second paragraph to be applicable to the federal coalition government of John Howard.