John F. Kennedy’s 1961 promise to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade was a monumental moment in American history. The space race between America and the Soviet Union was similar to a high school rivalry, with the added bonus of nuclear weapons. President Kennedy was like the basketball captain giving the pregame inspirational speech (he was pretty good at that stuff).
At the time Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon probably seemed impossible. Space was indeed the final frontier, and something the average citizen knew next to nothing about. The Apollo shuttle missions to the moon captured America’s imagination unlike anything our country has ever seen. Neil Armstrong setting foot on the lunar surface is considered one of the greatest moments in our nation’s history. It was possibly the most vivid example of our great American ingenuity in action.
Newt Gingrich’s 2012 promise to have a colony on the moon before 2020 was just another blunder in his GOP primary campaign. Well, that, and it was simply really funny.
During a campaign stop in Florida, where plenty of former NASA workers are on permanent vacation, the former Speaker of the House talked about his grandiose plans for space exploration.
“By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich said, drawing applause from the crowd. “I will, as president, encourage the introduction of the northwest ordinance for space to put a marker down that we want Americans to think boldly about the future and we want Americans to go out and study hard and work hard and together, we’re going to unleash the American people to build the country we love.”
Didn’t we just cancel the shuttle program because it was too damn expensive? Isn’t our country still suffering from serious economic problems? Does Newt realize how much taxpayer money would be invested in setting up a colony on the moon? Aren’t we supposed to be focusing more on Mars anyway?
Gingrich is too busy patting himself on the back for playing the visionary to be concerned with these types of unimportant questions. You know, everyone thought Kennedy was crazy back in 1961 – look at him now!
“I was attacked the other night for being grandiose,” he said. “I would just want you to note: Lincoln standing at Council Bluffs was grandiose. The Wright Brothers standing at Kitty Hawk were grandiose. John F. Kennedy was grandiose. I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose.”
All we want is a balanced budget, some jobs and our government to interact like civil human beings, but Newt “Grandiose” Gingrich wants to give us the moon – what a swell guy!
[Politico]
January 26, 2012 at 2:08 pm, Nojunk_3 said:
what the cost going to be, for say, a gallon of water, on the moon. Get F N real.