"One can only hope he's right on this. The only thing that doesn't jive is the expectation that there will definitely be another foam issue on the next launch. If that was a forgone conclusion it would be stupid to go ahead with the launch because it could kill the crew and cost Griffin his job. If no foam breaks off then what's the excuse to cancel the shuttle?"

Oh, I agree there will be a "foam issue". But "Foam issue" won't any different from last Shuttle launch (or all the other shuttle launches). The only difference is that people will be paying attention to it. So Giffin isn't expecting anyone to die- he wouldn't launch if he thought that. If he thought there was a 5% chance of crew dying he probably wouldn't launch, but 2% or less is different [it's "normal"].
But it's a near certainty the media will cover the foam flying off. And Bell thinks the Administer will use this as a excuse to terminate program. I don't agree- but I guess it's possible, esp if shuttle is so damage that experts think [or say] it's a significant risk to reenter.