Prizes: an issue both political parties can agree on

George Bush and John Kerry don't agree on much, but apparently they would both favor the use of prizes for technological acheivements. The Bush administration likes prizes- witness the effusive praise of science advisor Jack Marburger for the Centennial Challenges program. And now for some newsfrom the Kerry camp, on Kerry's plan for science and technology:

"Prizes have a number of advantages as a tool for stimulating technological innovation compared to traditional grants and contracts. For example, they allow the government to set a goal, while allowing researchers and entrepreneurs to pursue different strategies for reaching that goal. The private sector's X Prize illustrates the power of this approach. This prize has captured the public imagination, and encouraged two-dozen teams of rocket scientists from around the world to develop reusable spaceships. The Kerry plan would provide every science agency with the authority to establish prizes to foster technological advances."

To steal a phrase, perhaps prizes are "a uniter, not a divider."

I'm no fan of Bush, but how can you really tell if Kerry isn't going to flip-flop on this like he has on nearly everything else.

Actually Prizes should be popular, because they extremely low risk and high potential and it shows that we are not putting all of our eggs into one basket (NASA).