Aiming high can be an example of strong leadership. Seeking more than seems attainable can inspire people, pushing them beyond perceived limitations.
President Bush has no problem aiming high. Trouble is, when it comes to fiscal discipline, it’s largely because he can’t seem to aim at all.
With free spending and excessive tax cuts already saddling the federal budget with record deficits, Bush is expected Wednesday to announce yet another bold spending plan: setting up manned bases on the moon that could be used as jumping points to Mars or even to asteroids.
Such a plan, joined by sound scientific benefit and ample funding, might be classified as leadership. But with the deficit expected to climb near the half-trillion-dollar mark this year, fueled by Bush’s deep tax cuts and penchant to spend, it looks more like cynical electioneering. If Bush’s space proposal doesn’t come with a price tag and offsetting cuts elsewhere in the budget, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Space exploration is a worthy venture. Humans are drawn to discovery, and the U.S. space program has been a source of national pride while yielding important technological advances. But the recent success of the unmanned Mars mission shows that effective, exciting exploration can take place without the risks and stratospheric costs that go with rocketing people into the heavens.
Hard questions must be asked about the immediate future of human space flight. Until technology makes it safer and less costly, robotic missions make more sense. They would keep NASA moving forward, and can still yield important discoveries.
Bush does plan to call for the phase-out of the aging space shuttle program by the end of the decade. That makes sense — last year’s Columbia disaster was a grim reminder that manned space flight is still fraught with problems.
The plan Bush’s aides have laid out, though — creating settlements on the moon in the next 10 to 15 years and perhaps on Mars in 25 to 30 years — doesn’t promise nearly enough benefit to justify adding hundreds of billions more to the federal debt.
The president should bring his focus back to Earth and engage in some real leadership, like proposing that the federal government live within its means. That would entail making hard choices, and understanding that blind devotion to tax cuts isn’t enough to demonstrate fiscal responsibility.
When it comes to red ink, Bush has shown he’s willing to boldly go where no president has gone before.
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