The White House went on the record Tuesday in its support for Pete Aldridge, chairman of the commission reviewing the implementation of the new space policy, Reuters reports. A White House spokesperson said that the President “is supportive of Mr. Aldridge and is grateful to him for accepting this position to serve.” A couple weeks ago Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized the choice of Aldridge, noting a potential conflict of interest: Aldridge serves on the board of directors for Lockheed Martin, and had a “cozy relationship” with Boeing when with the Air Force.
Meanwhile, the Aldridge Commission, which now has a web site, is holding its first public hearing today in Washington. The event will be broadcast on NASA TV for those who can’t make it in person.
It seems that the Aldridge Commission website allows the general public to submit comments to the commission. Naturally, I had plenty to say…
From FloridaToday:
“The American people need to take ownership of it, and think of it as theirs — almost as a national right that we are in space,” added Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. “Otherwise, it’ll float away.”
Remember those red states and blue states? If the American people are to take ownership of our space vision it CANNOT be the “Bush vision” which leads me to this quote from Space.com:
“Aldridge, a former U.S. Air Force Secretary and the Pentagon’s top acquisition official from 2001- 2003, said it is not the commission’s job to question Bush’s agenda or seek alternatives, but to recommend a strategy for making the president’s exploration vision reality.
“We are not here to challenge or modify the president’s vision,” Aldridge said. “Our role in life is to determine what it would take to successfully implement this vision.”
What Democrat will openly support the “Bush vision” when John McCain (R) has called for Aldridge to be replaced? How can the American people “own” the vision when the vision has already been set in stone?