Straight talk on the future? Doubtful

The Washington Post's encourages Romney and Obama to have a discussion about the future of America, a discussion that actually has content.

And he offers this sobering reason why:

"America is worse off than it was 30 years ago — in infrastructure, education and research. The country spends much less on infrastructure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). By 2009, federal funding for research and development was half the share of GDP that it was in 1960. Even spending on education and training is lower as a percentage of the federal budget than it was during the 1980s."

The budget cuts that the Republicans have been advocating would eviscerate federal funding for research, and that is the research that has kept the U.S. at the forefront of the world in many different arenas.   Or should I more correctly say, that was the research that kept the U.S. at the forefront.  The anti-science Republicans are doing their best to make the U.S. second-best, or even further behind.  And that is what I want to hear a tax-cut advocate talk about a bit more.