Perception is all

The world of R&D is often interesting simply because of the perceptions of R vs. D. We were reminded of this last week by the proposal of Senators Harkin and Hatfield to tap into the Clinton health care alliances to divert funds into the research efforts of the NIH.

The proposal (see page A5) comes not long after Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed the Clinton administration's great appreciation for the efforts of NIH scientists to make the breakthrough discoveries that will lead to better, cheaper disease prevention and management. The White House, she vowed, will continue to funnel money into NIH despite tough budgetary constraints...