Comments on: Bolden: “no truth in the rumors” about impending nomination

By: Charles In Houston

Charles In Houston — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:14:18 +0000

Maybe Charlie Bolden will be picked for the Supreme Court?

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:20:07 +0000

The Obama Administration â€“ change we can believe it.

Donâ€™t like their policy position, just wait a day or two and like the weather it will change.

Donâ€™t like their NASA Administrator candidate, just wait a day or two and it will change.

In the old days we would call that indecisiveness. Now we proclaim it as leadershipâ€¦.

I hope the bouncing ball settles on Bolden, he looks like he has the background to be a good administrator, but we will see where Obamaâ€™s roulette wheel model of decision leaves NASA.

Place your bets now before the decision ball stops

By: Gary Miles

Gary Miles — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:40:45 +0000

If not Bolden, then who? For those interested, please throw out a name and explain why.

By: Doug Lassiter

Doug Lassiter — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:25:19 +0000

Well, a conversation to talk to Boldin about his nomination may not be scheduled, but it seems that a conversation to talk about a NASA administrator is. Not surprising that such a conversation would broach the subject of Boldin being offered the job, whether that’s a scheduled topic or not. So there isn’t any blatant inconsistency here.

I can easily imagine what Boldin’s concerns are. He needs to know if he’d be called on simply to oversee the death of Constellation, or something else. Certainly, if Constellation is going to get killed, and if the fate of U.S. human spaceflight is at issue and a new direction on that needs to be organized, NASA simply has to have an astronaut at the helm. Ideally a smart and politically astute one. But Boldin doesn’t want to step into a position where the job just comes down to dismantling the U.S. human spaceflight program. So the question he’s waiting to ask is, “OK, suppose the Augustine panel finds Constellation to be unworkable, and other options seem to be technically workable. What would you allow me to do, and what could I look to you to strongly support?”

By: Habitat Hermit

Habitat Hermit — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:19:09 +0000

AP couldn’t be bothered to verify their story, as usual. Dross.

By: sc220

sc220 — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:30:36 +0000

I would go with Bolden’s statement. Obviously, there is a miscommunication here. If Bolden had been tapped, he would have made himself scarce or given an oblique answer.

By: r heer

r heer — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:13:54 +0000

General Bolden would be a good choice. However, would he accept the job offer? Read his interview on the JSC Oral history web site that was conducted in 2004. It doesn’t look like he was very happy at all when he spent time as an Acting Deputy NASA Administrator. Also, he was not at all happy with being in Washington.

By: common sense

common sense — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:59:29 +0000

Could it be that he will ask Bolden to be on the Augustine panel?…

But note that Gibbs did NOT say he will meet with “Bolden”, he said “him” as in “I think you know that the President will meet with somebody”, i.e. finishing his sentence without any further acknowledgement…

It’d be really odd that the WH says will meet Bolden and Bolden says “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, unless he was instructed so by the WH and has not received the green light…

Ah… World of possibilities %^)