NASA can't do everything at once, but they seem to think they can. They're working on STTO, a space station, a Mars base, interstellar travel, and a whole host of other projects all at once. All they're doing is spinning their tires and going no where fast. I think they could take a que from China and the former USSR. Use 5 or 10 year plans, do one thing then move on to the next. Build upon what you've done before instead of going off half cocked in several dozen directions at once.

Here's my list of objectives:

2000-2010: SSTO

2011-2020: orbital space port

2021-2030: Luner transport + base

2031-2040: Mars transport + base

2041-2050: Design & build a robust inner solar system transport.

2051-2060: start mining NEO + asteroid belt objects

2061-2070: Manned exploration of outer solar system using large explorer ships

2071-2080: First robotic interstellar probes

2081-2100: Begin building large space habitats with the expanding space infrastructure

2100+" AD ASTRA!

Nice orderly progression. A few smaller projects could also be carried out suring each decade, but concentrate most resources on the main objective.