Two members of the current Congress, both Democratic contenders to take Bush's job, said Sunday that the president's moon-Mars ideas appeared to be misplaced priorities.

"I haven't looked at the numbers lately, but I don't know that we can go off on a new moon mission or Mars mission, if that's the suggestion, and just have the money to do something in addition to completing the space station," said Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites), D-Mo., interviewed on CBS' "Face the Nation" from Des Moines, Iowa. "We're pretty far down the road on the space station, and we need to complete it and have the success from it that we need."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said as much as he admires the space program — President Kennedy's moon-shot program was an early attraction to politics — he would prefer to spend the money on an "American Center for Cures" to find cures for chronic diseases still bedeviling the world. "If we had that kind of money, ... frankly I think that's more important to the American people than that kind of space voyage at this point in our history," said Lieberman, speaking on "Late Edition from his campaign in New Hampshire

From this article

Anyone who is a democrat and a space lover should tear up their party registration card and re-register as a republican right now. The democrats are NEVER going to take us into space. It's fairly obvious they don't give a rat's rump about space exploration or putting man in the solar system.

Limited vision from very limited people.

And the sad thing is...there is so much out there to discover, so many beautiful and wondrous places for man's eyes to see and to understand. We need a manned solar system craft capable of long hauls. We need to perfect the techniques for human survival in space and we need to get a foot out the door off of earth if earth and humanity is ever to be a spacefaring species.

What would strange new worlds think about us if they saw how many didn't even see the value of visiting other worlds? Why would they ever visit a world that is so self-absorbed and petty that they prefer to watch TV and eat popcorn rather than explore the cosmos?

We have countless centers looking for cures for all "incurable" diseases. Money isn't really the problem - our rather limited intelligence is the problem. Lieberman is clueless. The technology perfected in shielding man and keeping him healthy in space - will keep him even more healthy on earth.

And Gephadt is singing the age old "paupers pushing paper" song he knows by heart.

Bush has the vision. Bush will stay the course and see us into space. Let's vote out all those who would are trying to chain us to earth. On their way out, lets send them a few copies of a Heinlein or Asimov book which they can read when they are retired.

SDAI-Tech1

PS
Yes I know this post brings up politics but they are space politics and I thought it was more suited for the space board.