The NASA people down in the trenches, the scientists, the guys who build the systems, the people who get the work done, are for the most part intensely enthusiastic about what they are doing. I've met a LOT of them, on a lot of projects. Heck, just listen to the rover people on the NASA channel. Do they look and sound like they're in it just for the paycheck?

NASA's problems are institutional, at the highest levels of politics and bureaucracy, and even there there are still people in it for the love of space and exploration. My fondest hope for years has been that the private sector would someday find a place for all this enthusiastic talent.