I'd really like to see if a pol understands and believes that our advanced position in the world is to no small part due to our prior preeminence in science. I'd like to vote for someone who knows the stars are further than the planets. I'd like to vote for someone who knows the strategic and economic value of materials science and biology.

And it isn't just that. More than any other class you can take in college, physics teaches you how to think. I want a president who shows signs of understanding how to apply basic equations. One who has a feel for orders of magnitude (one who, for instance, won't embarrass the country by initially pledging only a few million dollars aid for the countries affected by the 2004 tsunami).

I think there are lots of things less important than science that candidates spend too much effort on.

I'm rambling... I think science is more important for a president than you do. Though I certainly admit that the things you listed are important too.