Don't delude yourself.
(1) NASA's 2005 budget is a pale shadow of its budget of its Golden Years in the 1960's,
True but still far more than ESA or any other space agency gets.
(2) George Bush MAY NOT be able to push his Moon/Mars initiative past 2008.
George Bush DEFINITELY won't be able to push it past '08 as he will be gone. Whoever follows may or may not continue. It's way too early to speculate on that but I would argue the momentum will be favorable. ESA has NO independent manned space program at all and will not be anywhere near NASA in manned spaceflight for a long time if ever.
(3) The remaining Space Shuttles will soon resume sponging up most of NASA's annual budget.
They are scheduled to be retired in 2010 and there are possiblities they could go much sooner.
(4) As Gary stated, several NASA facilities are closing, reducing or cutting back.
If they are cutting fat out of NASA's budget it is a good thing.
(5) WORSE! ... Fewer and fewer and fewer American kids are taking PHYSICS or CHEMISTRY
courses in senior high or in college...
That spells TROUBLE...... Real TROUBLE for the future.
Not just for America's space program, but for any field of SCIENCE or ENGINEERING in the
USA.
This is a real concern. One that the Moon, Mars and Beyond plan hopes to reverse.