Charlie Bolden's World Tour

Keith’s update: I guess the real question that has me perplexed is why Bolden is making this trip to Saudi Arabia now? The 25th anniversary of the STS-51-G mission (with Sultan Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on board) was in June. Right now NASA’s future hangs in the balance as the Senate and Congress promote dueling versions of legislation that will undermine (one more than the other) the President’s original proposal for space policy. Meanwhile, a more or less certain CR will leave NASA stuck in limbo in terms of its budget and its ability to implement the President’s agenda – regardless of what authorization bill makes it to his desk.
One would think that Bolden would stay in Washington to help see that process through. Instead, he’s off on a personal trip down memory lane – one that the White House still does not support – in great part due to the faux pas he committed the last time he was in the region. Since the media can’t ask him about this, we’ll never know. Let’s hope that his trip to China and Indonesia does not turn out to be yet another exercise in stealth and media avoidance.