Charlie on space

For once, Krauthammer is right: the US should not have abandoned its manned exploration of space. There hasn't been a single manned mission to the moon since 1972. But what Krauthammer fails to realize is that the heart of the problem is the democracy he has championed all these years. The space program is in a rut because of insufficient public support. Generally, people don't want to see their tax money spent on space. They prefer it be spent on programs which benefit them more directly, like social security. As long as the masses have their way, under democracy, funding for space is bound to be limited. Back in 1989, Charlie expressed confidence that man's searching for the perfect system had ended with the triumph of democracy. Forty years without lunar missions show that's not true. As long as Charlie's favorite system lasts, we'll never get far in space.