President of American Assn for Advancement of Science Speaks Out Against Bush’s Lame Duck “Wreckage”

From the Washington Post, November 22, 2008:

“The president of the nation’s largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be “to leave wreckage behind.”

“It’s ludicrous to have people who do not have a scientific background, who are not trained and skilled in the ways of science, make decisions that involve resources, that involve facilities in the scientific infrastructure,” said James McCarthy, a Harvard University oceanographer who is president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “You’d just like to think people have more respect for the institution of government than to leave wreckage behind with these appointments.”

Read about how Bush is protecting and perpetuating the jobs of unqualified political appointees through the civil service here.