Decision 2008 and the Future of the Space Program
Perhaps no election is more important to the future of the American Space 
Program than this one. Americans will have a difficult decision to make with pressing issues on many fronts, but buried in those issues is the very fate of the space program. During the late sixties, no one thought for a moment that Richard Nixon would take the program from it’s highest triumph and slice the budget until the program was barely on life support. NASA was formed under a Republican Dwight Eisenhower and flourished under Democrats Kennedy and Johnson, withered under the mismanagement of Nixon, Ford and Carter, was somewhat revived during the Reagan years, George H.W. Bush attempted to garner public interest, but no one was listening. Under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush the program has held it’s own due largely to a few key Senators who have steadfastly believed as millions of Americans do in the space program. However, to avoid a repeat of 1968 voters must include each candidates position on the program into their decision process. No assumption can be made that the program will again flourish under a Democrat or flounder under a Republican. One candidate has already made his position clear Barack Obama is no friend or supporter of the program and has vowed to cut exploration and divert the funds to education. Electing Barack Obama means the end of the new space race, the end of exploration, and the end of America as a technology leader. Other countries are working on getting back to the Moon not as ego trip, but to harness the energy sources locked in the soil. Obama’s shortsightedness is nothing short of terrifying. If you support the space program do your’ homework and support the candidates that will take the program to new heights.