Another Republican presidential candidate, former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, was asked about space policy. While former Speaker Newt Gingrich's response was hostile and angry, Huntsman's reply was vague.
According to the Orlando Sentinel: "When asked Thursday about the long period NASA now faces before it can have a manned space flight program again, Huntsman began by talking about first getting the country's economic house in order. He said space will be a part of that because of the 'long term return on investment" from space projects.'
"'We always want to be at the cutting edge of space flight. Today it's an affordability issue. When we get around to space policy, we'll come down here and make sure people are fully aware of what our hopes are,' he said."
The nonresponse that Huntsman gave had none of the luster of "We choose to go to the moon," but it was much as one might expect coming from a politician who had likely never been confronted with a space policy question before. Huntsman artfully gave a nod to the continuing debt crisis, but at the same time held out hope that something might happen that would tie space into jump starting the stalled economy.
There is not much yet from the Republican field of candidates concerning space issues, aside from Huntsman's tap dance and Gingrich's attack on NASA and lauding of the private sector. In a way, nether matters as neither man is given much of a chance of winning the nomination, not to mention the general election.
Huntsman is considered a moderate and the second coming of John McCain, but without the charisma and war record. Gingrich's campaign is in full meltdown mode with staff abandoning ship and questions about the former Speaker's seriousness about running for president being raised.
The candidates to look for a space policy that might actually have a chance of being implemented are Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty and -- if they choose to run -- Rick Perry and Sarah Palin. That is because these three candidates and two potential candidates might win.
Romney has spoken in vague terms about support for space exploration. Palin has lauded space as well in her two books, "Going Rogue" and "America by Heart." Coming from Texas, Perry would be expected to be supportive of NASA as well.
Nothing is certain, of course, until the candidates formulate a policy proposal. The debt crisis makes any increase for NASA a hard sale. However, regulatory and tax incentives for commercial space are certainly possibilities.
President Barack Obama's space policy, as unpopular as it is, has given the Republican candidates an opening to make space an issue, tying it perhaps to American exceptionalism, economic revival and national security. Whether anyone will take the opportunity remains to be seen.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.
