The only consolation is that Hubble is a fairly isolated case.

Since then, the science community has generally decided that the advantages of higher orbits (less drag, less interference, less thermal cycling, etc) outweigh servicability. The Webb/NGST successor to Hubble is supposed to be in a very high orbit, if I recall correctly.

So we're not abandoning a whole fleet of telescopes. Be a shame to lose several potential years of Hubble life, but I put that in the "minor" category until NASA assures us -- really assures us -- that manned exploration isn't going to cost us the whole next generation of space observatories.