Last Minute Arm Waving and Whining

Editor’s note: This week’s issue of Space News (as well as last week’s) has a lot of good material relevant to space policy and the election. One item of interest is a letter titled “Partisanship Dangerous for the Space Program” written by Planetary Society Executive Director Louis Friedman. The letter ends with one of the silliest leaps of logic I have seen in years: “But if Internet bloggers persist in polarizing the shuttle issue, and in using that issue for personal attacks on the Kerry campaign, then we can look forward to two possibilities: If Kerry wins it will most likely result in a reaction against anything Bush has proposed. If Bush wins it will destroy the chances to build widespread congressional and public support for human space exploration. Either way the space program loses.”

Aw c’mon Lou. I assume NASA Watch is among the offending websites you are referring to. Suggesting that what is on NASA Watch or any other website is going to affect how either Kerry or Bush are going to frame and then pursue their space policy is just plain silly and suggests a certain ignorance on your part as to how the world works.

On the same page Kerry space advisor Lori Garver whines about the way Space News handled statements by her and Frank Sietzen. She closes with the following hollow plea: “We in the space community require bipartisan support for our initiatives and programs to be successful. We ask Democrats and Republicans alike to support our issues. We cannot expect continued bi-partisan support unless the aerospace community treats each political party equally.”

All I can suggest for Lori (who is as partisan as they come): if you really wanted to see space issues treated on a bi-partisan (preferably non-partisan) basis, then why on Earth did you openly align yourself with a specific candidate – and party? You helped make this partisan, Lori !