Because he asks questions

Nature Magazine endorses Barack Obama

America’s choice
The values of scientific enquiry, rather than any particular policy positions on science, suggest a preference for one US presidential candidate over the other.

Some will find strengths in McCain that they value more highly than the commitment to reasoned assessments that appeals in Obama. But all the signs are that the former seeks a narrower range of advice. Equally worrying is that he fails to educate himself on crucial matters; the attitude he has taken to economic policy over many years is at issue here. Either as a result of poor advice, or of advice inadequately considered, he frequently makes decisions that seem capricious or erratic.


On a range of topics, science included, Obama has surrounded himself with a wider and more able cadre of advisers than McCain.