You may remember a couple months ago that the AFL-CIO published a web site, “America’s Priorities”, to accompany a 30-second commercial that suggested that President Bush, by promoting a new space exploration vision, was out of touch with what ordinary Americans thought was important. (You can refresh your memories by reading the original post on this topic and a follow-up from a week later.) I checked the web site yesterday and noticed that the site has been revamped, eliminating anything on the site that mentioned, directly or otherwise, the exploration plan. They have also removed the link to the commercial, although it is still available here.
(Checking the site was prompted by a conversation with someone in the Cleveland area, who noted that the site appeared to have changed. Apparently when the ad first came out, the AFL-CIO aired it on TV stations there for a few days, until unions representing employees at NASA Glenn protested.)
I’m glad Bush has been quiet on Space Exploration either intentionally or because he has other problems and the campaign to worry about. This has allowed Kerry and other organizations like AFL-CIO to change their positions.
That’s an interesting point, although it’s not clear that Kerry has “changed” his position on it. He’s merely been quiet on this.
But the alternative interpretation is that Bush’s total lack of attention to the issue is a powerful signal that he has no intention of supporting it. This could be interpreted by Republicans in Congress that they do not need to support it because there is no political penalty for not supporting it. It’s like the guy running into battle who suddenly looks over his shoulder and sees that all his buddies are in retreat–do you really want to be stuck out front on your own?