Wednesday Obama Campaign Press Conference: Just Laid Off From Their Space Industry Jobs, Workers To Respond to GOP’s Anti-NASA Stance “WEDNESDAY, October 8, engineers and other space industry workers will hold a press conference to denounce Senator John McCain’s plan to freeze NASA spending and his Republican Party’s attack on the space program. The Republicans’ criticism of Senator Barack Obama’s $2 billion plan to save space industry jobs comes as […]

Obama Gets a Thank You from NASA, NY Times “NASA confirmed that Dr. Griffin sent the note, which first appeared on the website nasawatch.com, but added that he sent similar letters to other members of Congress. … With the economy tipping precariously, was Dr. Griffin trying to ensure that at least one employee of the space agency would remain in his job in January? It does not sound like the […]

Obama Spend-O-Meter, Republican National Committee “Obama Has Proposed $2 Billion In Additional NASA Funding. “Sen. Barack Obama has detailed a comprehensive space plan that includes $2 billion in new funding to reinvigorate NASA and a promise to make space exploration and science a significantly higher priority if he is elected president.” (Marc Kaufman, “Obama Suggests $2 Billion In New Funding For NASA,” The Washington Post, 8/19/08)” John McCain: America’s Space […]

Editor’s note: Former NASA PAO flack Patti Phillips is clearly losing it over at the Washington Examiner. She uses a post about Obama and space policy to launch off on a bizzare path that ends with Nazis. Sure, Patti’s over the top rant at Obama is just that. But the link to a video she includes – a video that overtly uses Nazi symbology and swastikas in comparison to the […]

Sen. Obama Issues Statement on World Space Week “Senator Barack Obama issued the following statement today on World Space Week and the 50th Anniversary of the inception of NASA: “This week, we join more than 50 nations around the world in celebrating World Space Week. And this year, as we mark the 50th anniversary of NASA, our space program is at a crossroads. As other countries are moving forward in […]

President Clinton Reinforces Senator Obama’s Plans to Preserve and Reinvigorate Space Program “ORLANDO – TODAY, speaking in Orlando and Fort Pierce, President Bill Clinton spoke to Floridians about reasons a Barack Obama and Joe Biden administration would benefit Americans. The former President strongly supported Obama’s policies on the economy, energy independence and health care. Possibly the most salient of issues for Floridians was the former President’s support of Barack Obama’s […]

The President of Free Space, Part 3: Hope or Fear, Discovery News “Silly me. When I embarked on this freelance journalism project to chase down strings of rationality in the race for the U.S. presidency, using the space program as my fishing reel, I made a bad assumption. I thought rationality MATTERED to all people. You know? Fact-gathering, logical reasoning, analysis, verification the processes of science? Please stop chuckling. I […]

Presidential space debate closed to public, Orlando Sentinel “The meeting is closed, definitely closed, and that is not going to change,” said Alexis Allen, a spokeswoman for Aerospace Industries Association, a trade industry group. “I think there has been a lot of public debate and not every forum has to be a public event.” Editor’s note: What is the AIA afraid of? An informed electorate?

Report offers advice to McCain, Obama on science and technology appointments, National Academy of Sciences “The report recommends that the president and Senate accelerate the appointment process for S&T leadership to reduce the personal and financial burdens on nominees and to allow important positions to be filled swiftly. Congress and the Office of Government Ethics should simplify procedures aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest in appointees, which have become unduly […]

McCain, Obama Weigh in on Science “Entering the debate on several contentious science issues, John McCain today answered the “14 top science questions facing America,” according to ScienceDebate2008.com, the group leading an effort to make science issues a larger part of the election. His answers join those of Barack Obama, who answered the same questions two weeks ago. Recent national polls have shown that 85% of voters would like the […]

The President of Free Space, Part 1, Free Space “Rational thought, the foundation of science, the reason why there are rovers scratching the sand on Mars today, has been largely absent from the American political scene, and perhaps the American way of life for a long time now. Institutions created to solve specific problems, became incarnated (think FDR’s New Deal and LBJ’s Great Society) and never went away. That’s what […]

McCain asks Bush to tell NASA not to dismantle shuttle infrastructure, Orlando Sentinel “Sen. John McCain — joined by Republican colleagues Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and David Vitter of New Orleans — sent a letter to President Bush this week, saying that in light of tensions with Russia, the White House should tell NASA to stop any further dismantling of the shuttle infrastructure for at least a year to […]

McCain, Obama compete to be seen as friend of NASA, Houston Chronicle Obama Suggests $2 Billion In New Funding for NASA, Washington post “Sen. Barack Obama has detailed a comprehensive space plan that includes $2 billion in new funding to reinvigorate NASA and a promise to make space exploration and science a significantly higher priority if he is elected president. Campaigning in Florida yesterday, Sen. John McCain responded by telling […]

In Florida, McCain jabs Obama on NASA funding, Christian Science Monitor “I know that earlier this year, Senator Obama proposed cutting the NASA budget and delaying the timetable for our return to the Moon and the Mars mission,” McCain said. “I believe that he later repudiated his own plan. Sometimes it is difficult to know what a politician will actually do once in office, because they say different things at […]

Florida Democratic Party: Straight Talk On McCain’s Failed NASA Record “While John McCain is visiting Titusville today, holding a closed door meeting to talk about NASA issues, the Florida Democratic Party thought Floridians might appreciate some Straight Talk about John McCain’s failed record on space issues. “How can the Space Coast trust John McCain when he has failed us so many other times? In the Senate, Chairman McCain was the […]

Obama vows to find $2bn for NASA, Orlando Sentinel “But until Sunday, the democratic policy, while clearly ambitious, was lacking in details of how much an Obama administration would give to NASA, and where the funds to try to speed up development of a successor rocket to the space shuttle were going to come from. According to Nelson, the Obama campaign has pledged to find $2 billion for NASA by […]

Obama favors fast track for new space ferry, St. Petersburg Times “… These details are included in a seven-page policy statement the campaign is expected to formally release today. John McCain has previously said he supports the moon-and-Mars exploration strategy, and that he, too, will work to minimize the number of years in which NASA has no way to send astronauts into space.” Obama: Let’s go to moon, and maybe […]

Barack Obama: Advancing the Frontiers of Space Exploration “When I was growing up, NASA united Americans to a common purpose and inspired the world with accomplishments we are still proud of. Today, NASA is an organization that impacts many facets of American life. I believe NASA needs an inspirational vision for the 21st Century. My vision will build on the great goals set forth in recent years, to maintain a […]

Initial thoughts from the Mars Society debate, The Space Review “There was a sharp contrast between Garver and Cunningham. Garver has been working space policy issues for a long time, and recently has been working with the Obama campaign (she noted that she has had the opportunity to talk with Obama several times, including recently). Cunningham, on the other hand, does not appear to have an active role in the […]