I hope so too. Good luck!

— Donald

John,

What I wrote had nothing to do with you.

– Al

give me a break.

In listening to the questions that were asked, the reporters clearly were choosing questions that the reporter thought topical, and of high priority.

I don’t know if anybody tracked actual questions versus rankings, or wants to, but I am guessing that voting had little to do with what was asked. (Voting did bring a lot more people to the Politico website. Nice scheme for upping traffic.)

– Al

Absolutely right. It didn’t even make a difference in Brevard county.

Sorry for the delay, I have been on a business trip since Tuesday.

So… I have an “agenda…” a “conflict of interest?”

This isn’t a government contract that I’m going for guys, Its getting more support for the space industry at large. Who are you, the GAO? I want to work on the space station program because it is a stable job until at least 2016 and it will give me experience for the next space endeavors, whether they be public or private, Boeing or Lockheed, American or international.

I also want to get a job on the station program because Boeing has awesome benefits and it is close to my family in Texas.

Does that make anyone less supportive of space exploration? Does that make anyone less inclined to talk to their senator and tell them whatever they want to about space? Why should anyone care at all about my personal career aspirations?

The space station budget is not in question. No one is talking about cutting station funding, so I find it hard to believe that you might think that I am orchestrating people to act on their support for space so that I have a better chance at the getting a job on the space station project.

Every one of you can go to http://www.actionforspace.com right now and tell each candidate in 3 ways exactly how you feel about the station, NASA funding, COTS, the Aldridge Commission, or whatever else you care about. Every one of you could have submitted any question that you wanted to the politico debates. Why on earth is Nemo and Anon4 and canttellya and Charles in Houston talking about my motivations and career path and conspiracy to “get people active about space.” This has nothing to do with me, as far as you all are concerned.

I do hope I get the job. I should be hearing back soon on a specific job req that I applied for a few months ago. I guarantee that this debate will have no impact on whether or not I get it, it will have no impact on my pay if I get it, and it wont change station funding or the contract that Boeing has with NASA to build and operation the station.

Anon4, read the Science article entitled Getting Up to Speed on Space in Vol 319. “Lots of work and no result” is what you say? Nemo, you say I am an “unthinking cog?” I say forget you. I’m not going to let you slow me down doing what I’m passionate about and what makes me happy.

and by the way, we–the people I have “duped” into taking action on their beliefs–are defiantly making a difference. I’m not going to waste my time explaining how to cynics who would be fatalistic about it anyway.

–Indignantly Yours,

Mr. John W Benac
aspiring contributor to push humanity into space

More proof that NASA is the past, not the future of space.

Let me suggest that you can disagree without being disagreeable.

BTW, I think this is all moot. I checked the debate question website a couple days ago, and the space questions had fallen FAR down the list. Voters were clearly voting other issues, in large numbers late in the process, which may be why there was not a space question on the Republican side.

We will see if there is one on the democratic side tonight.

– Al

“Politics is not rocket science, which is why rockets scientists don’t understand politics”