I found the article somewhat depressing, outlining as it does the numerous faulty decisions Zubrin lays at the feet of NASA and other government parties.

Even with the energy and experience of the new NASA administrator, are we going to see Moon, Mars and Beyond dissipate and eventually vanish as divergent interests stretch it past the breaking point?

Zubrin sketches a plan that could satisfy the moon-fans without unecessarily sidetracking the journey to Mars...but does it matter, since he also describes at length the ability of the Aldridge commision to deflect both logic and passion. Was Moon, Mars and Beyond etched in stone and immutable even before the commission concluded? And if so, will that inflexibility be the downfall of our plans to put people on Mars?