Though pressing national issues such as the wearing of lapel pins and the rantings of preachers have garnered much attention during the presidential primaries, 85 percent of Americans say they would like to see the presidential candidates debate how science can be used to tackle the country’s considerable challenges. A poll commissioned by the education and advocacy group Research!America and the grassroots initiative Science Debate2008.com, found that 56 percent of Americans strongly agree and 29 percent somewhat agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate to discuss key problems facing the United States, such as healthcare, climate change and energy, and how science can help tackle them. The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on the matter. The poll found that 76 percent of people rated  healthcare among the most serious issues facing the nation, followed by alternative energy sources (69 percent), education (67 percent) and national security (61 percent). The poll also found a majority of American want public policy to be based on scientific evidence. A total of 67 percent said that public policies should be influenced more by scientific evidence than by elected officials' personal beliefs.