The Big Question is, Will Joe Shmoe Tune In?

The organizers of Science Debate 2008 have decided to hold the discussion on April 18 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and have invited the four remaining presidential candidates, reports Wired blogs. Though folks pushing for the debate hope to hear the candidates delve into meaty issues -- climate change, energy research, stem cells, evolution -- veteran science journalist Andy Revkin is pessimistic. "The latest polling from the Pew Research Center on public concern (the lack of it, actually) about climate change doesn’t suggest a groundswell. I’d like to think the candidates and their advisers will consent, but my guess is they’ll offer surrogates (although I’ll happily be proved wrong)," he writes at his new blog, Dot Earth.