Your Quotes are Out Of Context Too
This actually sounds pretty good. Mars in parallell with the Moon with emphasis on using Martian resources as well as Lunar ones. It's fine with me if we prove with robots how much better Mars is before actually doing it with humans. The second quote I took as more relevant to technology path than physical path. Something I also take issue with, but not as much as a physical detour through the Moon.
Regards,
Mark