I will be more than just utterly shocked if Hillary Clinton is made the next President. This has nothing to do with my political views, but simply the fact that I do not see her being able to win. I also have doubts that a Democrat or any other political party candidate will beat the Republicans for quite a while. They have the whole system set up to keep Republicans winning for decades.

Now, will they help the US space program or shut it down? That is the question.

Perhaps if they are made to realize that if the US doesn't do it, there are countries like China who will be more than happy to fill in the gap. Before 9-11, I was kind of hoping for a new Space Race between the US and China to get things stimulated again. But I have to ask, is it worth it if a threat, perceived or otherwise, from another nation is what always takes us to get into and stay in space?

I also keep hoping that maybe private enterprise will get us into space, but they seem to be in a Catch-22 mode: They won't spend the big bucks without a good payback from utilizing space resources, but they need to spend that money to find the resources.

Hopefully my fears are unfounded and that the momentum to explore and expand as our species has done for ages will continue despite the politics and narrow visions of so many.