Now Hear This!

When I first started looking at the November presidential election in February, I asked who our readers preferred out of the then multitude of candidates and why. Ron Paul stood out in your replies because, as readers described in the post's comment section, he is "at least tolerable on his tech issues."

That was eight months ago, and in that time Paul missed the nomination, as did other once-considered-viable campaigners Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee. Now we're down to two, and just four weeks to Election Day here in the United States.

In those eight months I've been researching and researching and researching, grasping at straws, trying to cobble together a true sense of the two remaining opponents, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, and their stances on technology and the policies that will impact the industry. But after eight months, all I have is a pile of straws.
 
The most McCain and Obama have said thus far as to tech can be found here, where the two briefly answer 14 science/tech questions on topics like climate change, innovation and US competitiveness, STEM education, R&D, and national security. While you should visit the page, as well as the two opponents' Web sites for a glimpse at their views on tech, expect just that—a glimpse. And expect that glimpse to be so heavily buried with political buzz terms and slick wording that you'll need a shovel.

Neither side, in my opinion, has placed tech in as high a position as it should be. We're a nation dependant on and economically driven by consumer electronics like cell phones, laptops, and TiVos. We're a nation of aging baby boomers who need affordable healthcare through medical technologies. We're a nation reliant on foreign oil that needs alternative energy solutions. We're a nation constantly under risk of attack and one that is currently at war that needs better national security brought not by additional bodies in the military but by better defense technologies. While the two campaigns have discussed the economy, healthcare, alternative energy, and national security, they haven't, at least not as publicly as they could be, credited technology as the force behind their claimed answers to the issues.
 
McCain took far took long to get his technology agenda up online and Obama, who did so early on, recently changed his public statements on tech, focusing more on science and America's competitiveness, and to include his running mate Joe Biden's views. See this side-by-side comparison and note the differences (or what my EDN co-worker Brian Dipert described as "backpedaling") on issues like net neutrality and prosecution for telecom wiretapping.

While they differ on details, both candidates recognize (or claim to recognize) that federally funded tech research and its fruits are a cornerstone of America's competitiveness and recognize (or, again, claim to recognize) the need for scientific advisement in the White House. To be true, our current administration also has advisors, claims to support tech, and has allotted funding for it—it just hasn't spent it.

Obama is clearly more tech savvy than McCain, using tools like social media to win support, but that of course doesn't mean he's the better man for the job. Therein, however, lays possibly tech's biggest influence on the campaigns so far. Like Bill Clinton's sax playing appearance on the "Arsenio Hall Show," Obama here is reaching for younger voters—younger, more tech savvy voters. That needs to be kept in mind in polling, which is mostly conducted by landline phone, edging out many 20-somethings who may only have a mobile phone (of course, they may also be getting their political info solely from Tina Fey "Saturday Night Live" skits).

From where I stand, it's a flip of the coin when it comes to tech and our next president. Just like on all issues, promises made may or may not be kept once the new guy moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January.

So, sans Ron Paul, who do you think is better for tech and why? Voice your opinions below.