Why should liberals be any less relieved that DeLay is out of the picture, since he is still a nemesis?

If the only way that the space program can stay afloat is to tie itself to partisan concerns, then it is not representing the interests of humanity as a whole. Truely, you have pointed out something that I have begun to wonder about, both as a liberal and as a space supporter, myself.

One of my former high school volunteers stopped in to say hello, and to tell me that she's been admitted to graduate school at Cal Tech after she graduates from Johns Hopkins this spring. She's studying aeronautics and engineering, hoping to be involved in space exploration. She's looking into going to Europe. She doesn't see a future for her passion here.