I was reading an interesting article in the Washington Post recently. I think you’ll like it.
The headline said, “Bush Urges Mars Landing By Year 2019,” while the subhead said, “Democrats Point To Money Problems.”
Take a look at the story, but keep reading, because I’m working towards a punch line.
Looking beyond the travails of a national budget crisis, President Bush yesterday outlined a timetable for human exploration of Mars, calling for an American flag to be planted on the surface of the red planet no later than the year 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing.
“We stand at a halfway point…. Thirty years ago, NASA was founded and the space race began. And 30 years from now, I believe man will stand on another planet,” Bush said.
[…]
Bush called space exploration “democracy’s destiny,” an investment in America’s future, and tied it to his education program. “Our space program will help rekindle public interest in science and mathematics, and revitalize an area of our educational system that has become disturbingly weak. . . . It will create new technologies, new industries and new jobs.”
Bush’s speech in some ways evoked President John F. Kennedy’s galvanizing commitment, almost 30 years ago, to land a man on the moon within a decade. But the new approach is, relatively speaking, in slow motion and on a shoestring.
Bush’s call for a human exploration initiative… produced an immediate outcry from Democrats. They charged that it was another sample of Bush’s rhetorical commitments, like his statements on education, the environment and other concerns, that was not supported with dollar commitments.
So, why is this interesting? Because of the date at the top of the page.
May 12, 1990.
This Post article didn’t run last week, it ran almost 14 years ago. And yet, like a scene from Groundhog Day, here we are again, with another President Bush calling for a human trip to Mars.
Looking at the story again, it’s amazing how little has changed. Bush in the White House? Check. Bush is talking about going to Mars? Check. The nation is suffering through a “national budget crisis”? Check. Bush’s advisors are looking for a JFK moment? Check. A Bush administration that’s talking a good game about domestic priorities — education, environment, etc. — but fails to follow through? Check. Democrats are trying in vain to figure out how we’ll pay for the White House wish list? Check.
Perhaps the funniest part of this, to me, is the idea that Karl Rove & Co. were said to be looking for a bold and visionary idea for George W. Apparently, they didn’t have to be too creative; they just pulled up some of the stuff Bush’s Dad talked about over a decade ago but never finished.