It seems that NASA may have a bit of a problem on its hands. The planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010 may be in jeopardy because of geopolitical problems beyond NASA’s control. Like a bit of aggression by Russia in Georgia.
CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has ordered his top officials to study how the agency could fly the space shuttle beyond its planned retirement in 2010, according to an internal e-mail obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The decision signals what could be a huge change in NASA policy. Griffin has steadfastly opposed extending the shuttle era beyond its 2010 retirement date, arguing it could kill astronauts and cripple the agency’s fledgling Constellation program, a system of new rockets and capsules meant to replace the shuttle.
But geopolitics and political pressure are undermining his position.
The Russian invasion of neighboring Georgia has chilled relations between Washington and Moscow. The incursion has threatened NASA’s carefully laid plans to rely on Russian spaceships to ferry astronauts to the international space station during the years between the shuttle’s retirement and the maiden voyage of NASA’s next generation of rocket in 2015.
Frankly, it may be a really bad idea to keep them flying, but it may be an even worse idea to trust Russia at this point. It is best to keep something in reserve, though, just in case. So plans should be underway to keep at least part of the shuttle fleet - such as it is - in shape to fly.
The National Hurricane Center has downgraded the threat of Gustav, saying that it will likely not be a category 4 storm when it reaches land. It is, of course, still a serious storm, but this is at least a bit of good news.
The headline from The Politico screams: Scholars question Palin credentials. A quick excerpt:
John McCain was aiming to make history with his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and historians say he succeeded.
Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.
So unconventional was McCain’s choice that it left students of the presidency literally “stunned,” in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. “Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who’s of presidential caliber,” said Goldstein.
“I think she is the most inexperienced person on a major-party ticket in modern history,” said presidential historian Matthew Dallek.
A few minutes of very casual research on the interwebby tubes brought these gems about a Matthew Dallek, who may or may not be the person quoted, one cannot tell from the article:
Dallek’s first book examined the origins of the conservative counterrevolution of the 1960s. In The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan’s First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics, Dallek examined Ronald Reagan’s rise to power in 1966, the collapse of liberalism in California, and the intersection of social movements (civil rights, Free Speech, anti-war), social upheavals (the Watts riots), and public policy in fueling counter-revolutionary political changes.
Since this Dallek, appears to be this Dallek, who was a speechwriter for Dick Gephardt, and since the above quote describes conservatives as “counterrevolutionaries”, one may safely assume that Mr. Dallek is not exactly a non-partisan source.
We point this out, although we are quite sure the media will continue it’s orchestrated attacks. We also point out that this will likely backfire - badly - on the media.
Found via Memeorandum.
But Rasmussen Reports says that Governor Sarah Palin has made a very, very good first impression on voters. Quite a lot better an impression than Senator Joe Biden made right after his announcement as VP candidate. Worst of all for the Obama campaign, Sarah Palin is viewed favorably by a straight - and substantial - majority of independents.
Palin earns positive reviews from 78% of Republicans, 26% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters. Obviously, these numbers will be subject to change as voters learn more about her in the coming weeks. Among all voters, 29% have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin while 9% hold a Very Unfavorable view.
By way of comparison, on the day he was selected as Barack Obama’s running mate, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden was viewed favorably by 43% of voters.
This is a spot poll and should be taken with a grain of salt. But it is at least of great interest. It is also a gigantic red flag to those who are attacking Palin in Obama's name - or as Obama's proxies. This is dangerous ground for them.
And frankly, there are a few slimeballs out there who are attempting to attack Sarah Palin through her children. I will not link them, they know who they are. Those people should be shunned by both sides.
Barack Obama has distanced himself from his campaign's official first reaction to the news of Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate. He is pedaling backward just as fast as he can.
"I think that, uh, you know, campaigns start getting these, uh, hair triggers and, uh, the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments," he said, according to the pool report, apparently criticizing his staff for going overboard, as he did occasionally in the primary.
He was referring to a more gracious statement of congratulations he issued later with Biden, which he then reiterated.
I suspect the attempt at belittling Palin polled very, very badly. Obama's supporters better rein it in fast or they will begin to damage their candidate. If they haven't already.
Too, too funny. Rahm Emanuel has gone on the attack over the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate:
After trying to make experience the issue of this campaign, John McCain celebrated his 72nd birthday by appointing a former small town mayor and brand new Governor as his Vice Presidential nominee. Is this really who the Republican Party wants to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency? Given Sarah Palin's lack of experience on every front and on nearly every issue, this Vice Presidential pick doesn't show judgement: it shows political panic.
Actually the panic shoe is on the other foot, I suspect. Jim Lindgren at Volokh has some news that should be causing panic in Obamaland.
You would not believe how the Sarah Palin pick is playing out at the Hillary Clinton Forum (tip to a VC commenter). In order, these are all the posts on the first (and only) page I've looked at (page 8 of the Palin thread; this link may not point to exactly the same posts). I cut out headers and footers only.
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Wow, Thanks so much to this Sarah Palin who never forgot us. She is a fighter. She paid her respects to our Hillary and Geraldine . They now no more think women in this country are 2nd class. You go girl and thank you for a refreshing pick Sen. McCain.
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i wish i could see the look on obamas face when he heard this vp pick
Or Michelles. "Why'd he go and do that!"
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I am going over to John McCain's website and thank her for acknowledging the glass ceiling and our struggles. She needs to know that there are LOTS of us behind her fight.
Obama is in real trouble.
Sure, they're trying to take the low road on McCain's pick for VP, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, but in the process they again show their scorn for small town America:
Barack Obama's campaign is blasting John McCain for putting "the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency."
The scathing description of Sarah Palin, from Obama spokesman Bill Burton, comes as Democrats scramble to gather a response to a selection that nobody in the political world expected.
This disrespect for a large part of the country keeps showing up from the Obama campaign and the candidate himself. This is not going to play well with people from those small towns who also happen to be voters. And there are a lot of us.
And she's good. I am watching her live right now and she has presence, dignity and poise. The Obama campaign just got a major problem. They have already decided to take the low road and began issuing derisive statements about Palin as nothing more than a small town mayor. That technique will backfire on them, it makes them look petty.
Especially when Palin makes it a point, as she just did, to praise Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton.
Obama has a real problem.
Nicely done, McCain, nicely done.
UPDATE: Top ten list worth reading, written before the announcement.
Regardless of who John McCain has at his side in Ohio in a few minutes, there is one thing for sure: McCain has masterfully grabbed command of this news cycle. Everyone is speculating on who his choice for VP will be. The biggest ruckus seems to be around Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, not exactly a household name in the lower 48. But what little is being said about her right now seems to be pretty positive.
Such a choice would give the Obama campaign fits.
And again, no matter who steps on stage with McCain, this news cycle belongs to him. He's knocked Obama out of discussion for a while. Look at the dominance on Memeorandum.
That's what Cnet News is quoting experts as saying about Barack Obama's much-touted text message revelation about his vice presidential pick. It seems that the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight couldn't quite get over the technical hurdles. Many eagerly waiting recipients of the "big news" of Joe "Who?" Biden's ascension to the primary spot in Obama's shadow never got the news at all, or got it very, very late.
A campaign e-mail message on August 12 promised: "Let me be very clear. You are the ones who built this campaign, and Barack wants you to be the first to know who will join him in leading our movement for change."
There were just two problems with that plan. First, the Obama campaign chose the traditional route of handing the news first to a favored reporter: Joe Biden's selection was first reported by CNN. Second, many messages never arrived (one of my colleagues is still waiting).
Keynote Systems on Thursday called it a "technical bellyflop."
The stats are pretty bad. 40 to 50% of the folks who gave up their personal information to The One either never got the message at all or got it late. Gee, one wonders how the "working" toga party at Mile High will work out.
It seems some senior Democrats are very worried indeed about Barack Obama's decision to build himself a temple in Denver. That and the whole stadium thing.
Senior Democratic officials are expressing serious concerns about the political risks posed by Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium Thursday evening.
From the elaborate stagecraft to the teeming crowd of 80,000 cheering partisans, the vagaries of the weather to the unpredictable audience reaction, the optics surrounding the stadium event have heightened worries that the Obama campaign is engaging in a high-risk endeavor in an uncontrollable environment.
A common concern: that the stadium appearance plays against Obama’s convention goal of lowering his star wattage and connecting with average Americans and that it gives Republicans a chance to drive home their message that the Democratic nominee is a narcissistic celebrity candidate.
“We already know he is a rock star, we already know he can bring 85,000 people together in a stadium. He has done it multiple times. He needs to talk to people who haven’t made up their minds yet,” said Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Not only is Obama a rock star, he is also embracing his inner Britney. His temple was built by the same outfit that built Britney Spears stage sets.
DENVER - Democrats will kneel before the "Temple of Obama" tonight.
As if a Rocky Mountain coronation were not lofty enough, Barack Obama will aim for Mount Olympus when he accepts his party's nomination atop an enormous, Greek-columned stage - built by the same cheesy set team that put together Britney Spears' last tour.
Ah, a pantheon built for his oneness. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard are reminded of another stage, another set, another grand ego, albeit completely fictional.
UPDATE: Gasp! Could the Temple of the One and the Mile High Ego actually be all about filthy lucre?
Barack Obama's new digs in Denver, his faux Greek temple, are attracting the predictable amount of scorn from the right side of the blogosphere. Meanwhile, the media has hunkered down in the bunker (probably avoiding arrest) and is trying an equivalency meme out. I generally thought a bit better of Ben Smith at The Politico, but he's trying the trial balloon toga on for size:
Barack Obama's appearance in Denver won't be the first convention speech framed by Greek columns.
Republicans who are mocking Obama's appearance haven't mentioned it, but George W. Bush accepted his own nomination in 2004 on a set with a similar neoclassical theme, with columns rising on either side of him, as the pictures above and below show.
Smith is accurate, but far from truthful here. Yes, there were columns. A total, per Smith's own photographic "proof', of six columns as part of the convention hall decor.
What it was not was a purpose-built faux-Greek temple in a stadium. Bush accepted in the convention hall, not in a football stadium. Nor did he have an entire temple assembled for himself to house his ego. The media may try to split hairs here and play the equivalency card, average voters will be more than a bit disturbed at the imagery the Obama campaign has used. But, our backroom staff here at the Crabitat has helpfully written a new anthem (or is it paean?) for the stadium toga after-party:
Obama, Hey Bama, Bama, Bama, Oh!
Bama, hey Bama, Obama
Barry, Barry, won't you smile at me?
Bama, Obama hey Superstar
Powerline has helpful dress tips for those supporters who want to meet the dress code.
Whether the media admits it or not, they are rapidly becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic party and Obama campaign. Maybe the openly stated plan to attack television stations that dare to air anti-Obama ads didn't get their attention. (The Obama campaign pledged to coordinate attacks on those stations, but the media largely yawned.) Maybe the arrest of one of their own for daring to attempt to film lobbyists and Democratic Senators will finally enlighten them as to what they are involved in. Perhaps they'll pay attention to the story of Asa Eslocker, an ABC News producer.
A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisted the producers arm behind him to put on handcuffs.
A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. He also said the arrest followed a signed complaint from the Brown Palace Hotel.
Eslocker was put in handcuffs and loaded in the back of a police van which headed for a nearby police station.
Video taken at the scene shows a man, wearing the uniform of a Boulder County sheriff, ordering Eslocker off the sidewalk in front of the hotel, to the side of the entrance.
The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.
The media better wake up. Or they will be completely owned and will have no one to blame but themselves.
For all the screeching from the left that they were being oppressed under the Bush presidency, I don't recall network personnel being herded off to jail. Thuggish tactics seem to be the forte of the "liberals".
Grand news! The Temple of Obama in Denver is made of recycled material! And they have garbage police!
Some 900 volunteers were enlisted to help delegates sort their garbage so it ends up at a recycling plant or composting facility.
Caterers and other vendors are also being instructed in waste diversion.
And the company hired to build the stage where Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination has been asked to use recycled materials and make sure they get reused when the stage is torn down.
One could point out, of course, that had the 900 volunteer dumpster divers stayed home, the carbon footprint of the convention would have been reduced by a far larger amount than all their efforts. But that would entail some math skills on the part of the true believers.
Too much to ask, I suppose.
Oh, brother:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple. (Emphasis added)
The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.
Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington's Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.
Followed by a simple supper of loaves and fishes, no doubt.
Perhaps someone should remind the Obama campaign of another ancient Greek concept: Hubris.
(The title of the post would have been funnier if they played baseball in the stadium.)
Via Memeorandum. Others: Weekly Standard Blog, The Corner, Redstate, Sister Toldjah
Space | Gaius Sunday, 31 August , 2008 | 
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