<p>Tell ya what. I won’t try to defend McCain’s flip-flops if you agree to stop trying to pretend Obama is anything more than another, flip-flopping politician like McCain.</p>
<p>Say whatever you have to say to get elected then do what you really want rather than what you promise. That should be the creedo of every POTUS candidate.</p>
<p>I don’t have an issue with NASA. I’m a big fan of NASA. It was more about the fact that a politician will say anything to and audience they they think they will want to hear…</p>
<p>um…I try to stay out of the political threads here, this one intrigued me (note my screenname…D will be working PT at NASA this fall as she continues her study at U of MD…).</p>
<p>In our recent history, has there been any person elected POTUS who has NOT pledged things in their campaign that didn’t occur? And, of course a political candidate speaks to local issues when they are campaigning…that’s the whole point. When they seemingly “flip flop” on issues after they are elected, they usually blame it on Congress or something else that has changed the circumstances, etc. but I really do consider it part of the entire game of campaigning. I wish it were November and we were past all this silly crap back and forth.</p>
<p>I agree. I don’t care that he flip-flopped. It’s what they do. It would just be nice if everyone agreed that’s what they do and stop arguing about who is the real flip-flopper… They both are!!!</p>
<p>I know you weren’t questioning the worthiness of Nasa and I agree completely about ‘saying anything to get elected’. I don’t think cutting Nasa should even be on the table, EVER. </p>
<p>I hate politics. As a Dept of Defense employee (in the comptroller’s office) I am truly dismayed. I had a lot more respect for civilian government employees, until I actually met them.</p>
<p>NASA is worthy of funding over soooo many other gov’t programs. I’m sure it has it’s issues like any other gov’t entity but they are one of them that actually gives something back.</p>
<p>Was he speaking in Texas? That’s a big state that he would like to win in November… Of course, he could be playing to the aerospace/tech vote in his strongholds like California.</p>
<p>WashDad, Obama was speaking in Florida. Obama’s original position on NASA’s budget was make sure we’re getting the most bang for the buck (hee), and delay the onset of the shuttle replacement in order to fund educational initiatives. That’s a job loss in FL and TX. Not as much a hit for CA because the aerospace firms there can more easily weather the delay; they’re not one-trick ponies. The NASA centers in CA are overwhelmingly involved with the non-(wo)manned program. </p>
<p>Speaking of flip-flopping, I liked what Gov. Schwarzenegger said recently when talking about the possibility of a tax increase (which he promised in his first campaign to never, ever do). From the LA Times opinion section:</p>
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<p>The “honest about it” portion is key, of course. There’s a definite line between doing something for political expediency, and doing something because of a honest change in opinion. I’ll even accept the former somewhat cloaked in the latter.</p>
My H has been a government employee at NASA in Houston for 21 years, and I have to tell you, they are pretty careful with their money. Everything costs, of course, but H has not seen wastefulness. In fact, he is really squeezed because people retire and are not usually replaced. He is doing the jobs that several people were doing when he started there. Since he is in shuttle operations, that is good news to me if they delay retiring the shuttles.</p>
<p>Having worked for the Federal Government for over 20 years It has been my observation that department budgets only change at the margins no matter which party is in the white house.</p>