While I agree with the sentiment by Davis that "...public support for publicly funded space activity is a mile wide and an inch deep. ", I don't take it in a negative context: At least the support is a mile wide and an inch deep. I'm not at all sure limiting pro space arguments to concrete realism wouldn't make public interest a *yard* wide and an inch deep.

Take away the imagination behind the idea of space flight and you've got the hard, exacting, and dangerous sciences left suited for the engineers: The inch deep part.

Leave in the imagination, hopes and dreams of people willing to spend a dollar or two on the *chance* of realizing some of those dreams and you get the mile wide part.

The guys I don't like to give money to are the one's with all the answers...