All Theories Are Not Created Equal

Ok, unless you live in Arkansas or Alaska, you probably know about the upcoming US presidential election and the fact that the debates and hype have already started.

And the trend seems to be continuing where the religious questions are once again becoming the hot topic.

The following is the first few paragraphs from a CNN article found here.

During the first GOP presidential debate last month in California, three Republican candidates raised eyebrows by indicating they did not subscribe to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, a widely accepted scientific concept about the origins of life.

When the topic came up again Tuesday night in a CNN-sponsored debate in New Hampshire, one of those evolution skeptics, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, offered a spirited defense of the biblical creation narrative.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth," said Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister. "A person either believes that God created the process or believes that it was an accident and that it just happened all on its own.

Some quick Google searches located this article from Oct 2004:

What role has religion played so far in this campaign?

STEVEN WALDMAN: Well, it has been huge. It has probably been a bigger role this time than any election probably since 1960 and that's partially because the Bush campaign has targeted a huge turnout.

They need a huge turnout from evangelical Christians; it's partially because John Kerry is the first Catholic presidential nominee since 1960 and all those things are combining together to make it a very important aspect.

GWEN IFILL: Amy Sullivan, what role should religion play?

AMY SULLIVAN: Well, religion is an important part of all Americans lives. For too long it has been sort of assumed that conservatives were religious and liberals were people for whom faith was not that important.

But we know that 87 percent of Americans say that religion is an important part of their life. So it would be kind of odd to hear a presidential campaign that ignored that factor.

GWEN IFILL: Well, it's more than whether they ignored or paid attention to it. It seems like there is more talk this year than there has been in the past. Am I wrong about that?

AMY SULLIVAN: Well, there certainly is, but that's because for 30 years now Democrats have kind of responded to the issue of religion by remaining quiet. They didn't like how it was dealt with in a campaign.

So instead of changing the way that we talked about religion, they just kind of sat in a corner and let conservatives take over the rhetoric.

So my question is simple:

Are there any questions considered too personal to ask a presidential candidate?

If we, the public media, ask about Evolution, shouldn't we also ask about Relativity?

MEDIA: Do you believe the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers?

CANDIDATE: No comment, next question.

MEDIA: Well then, what about Orbital Effects, Frame Dragging, or Black Holes?

CANDIDATE: blink blink