Thoughts in a Haystack

... is what the Discovery Institute is so famous for, of course. It looks like John Campbell, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, purported expert witness at the Dover trial (until he and most of the DI witnesses came down with frigidfootitis) and co-author of a book with Stephen Meyer, director of the Discovery's Institute's Center for Science and Culture, called Darwinism, Design and Public Education, is living ... um ... up to the DI's lofty standards. Campbell is a candidate for a school board seat in semirural North Mason County along the Hood Canal in Washington state. For some strange reason, however, all those [cough] impressive credentials seem not to have made it onto his campaign website.

It doesn't seem like some accidental oversight either. This is the highly unusual way Campbell refers to his book co-authored with Meyer on the "Biography" page of his website:

One co-authored, edited book, Michigan State University Press (2003).

I've never heard of an author taking credit for an anonymous book before. He isn't even running under the name he used on that book and all the other publications he lists: John Angus Campbell. Eugenie Scott, of the National Center for Science Education wonders: "Is he trying to hide that he's running for school board, or that he is who he is?"

Campbell insists he isn't hiding anything. He says he hasn't mentioned his work on intelligent design because "it hasn't come up as an issue" and "it's not part of my motive in running."

It isn't? On his "About John" page, under "Why Am I Running for School Board?" there is this quite familiar sounding statement:

I believe that the full and free expression of different opinions is central to clear public thinking and that opposed arguments conducted with mutual respect can reveal common ground.

Can you say "teach the controversy" and "critical analysis," boys and girls? Gooood!
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