Bang, zoom!

[avram]

I’ve seen a couple of friends list folks post about Bush’s supposed upcoming space initiative speech. All I’ve got to say to you folks who see this as a hopeful gleam of commonality with the Bush administration is: You’re being played.

Bush is real big on fancy talk, and real poor on the follow-through. In the early days of his administration, people used to joke about how anytime he posed in a photo with something, that thing would wind up getting torn down or defunded right after.

This is the guy who talks about supporting our troops, while cutting their combat pay and veteran’s health benefits. Who talks about the environment, while trying to bypass the Clean Air Act. Who talks about liberating the Iraqis, while his army takes lessons from the Israelis on how to treat them. Who talked about leaving no child behind, but whose “Texas Miracle” turned out to be a sham based on lowering standards and dropping under-performing students.

This is not the guy you want to rely upon for getting what you want, unless you’ve dropped some fat bankrolls into his campaign warchest, and what you want is a tax cut or some regulations eliminated.

Comments

[cheshyre]

The best thing I've read about this so far comes from Counterspin Central

Bush & Rove have been trying for a while now to portray (and thus dismiss) their opponents as pessimists. As Hesiod writes:

He's doing it (per Karl Rove's instructions) to make himself look "Kennedyesque," and to force the Democrats to pull a Dukakis and sound like the "eat your spinach" party.
...
You see, Rove WANTS Dean and the other Democrats to blast Bush for being fiscally irresponsible. He WANTS them to attack Bush for being a cynical political opportunist in an election year. That way Bush can go around the country posing as the candidate with "vision, hope and optimisim (there's that word, Atrios)."
And, of course, you know what that makes the DEMOCRATIC candidate.
...
Ironically, it may be Republicans who trash this idea most harshly. Which is also something Rove is counting on. TRIANGULATION!

Be careful of this one, it smells like a trap...

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

As much as I like the idea of a more active space program, I agree, it's from an unreliable source.

[whumpdotcom.livejournal.com]

Back in 1999, Norman Spinrad wrote about how the Reganistas got the Orange County SF Mafia (Niven, Pournelle, etc.) to help sell SDI to fandom: http://mondediplo.com/1999/07/14star

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had no idea about any of this.

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Yes. Exactly.

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

Right on, Avram. At this point, all I want from the Bush administration is as few initiatives of any kind as possible. I do not wish them to do anything at all to NASA.