I doubt it. I suspect that Bob Zubrin is fooling himself, and that these supposed Kerry space staffers are just telling him what he wants to hear. After the election, if Kerry manages somehow to win, he'll just tell Bob that he was for Mars exploration before he was against it.

Is Kerry pro-space? Of course not!

Might Kerry be more easily manipulated (than Bush) into doing a Mars mission? Quite possibly.

This is what Zubrin was saying, IMHO.

There are those who believe that the coalition of anyone-but-Bush folks would likely evaporate after Kerry were elected, leaving him with little support to do anything, even if he wanted to.

There are those who believe that the coalition of anyone-but-Bush folks would likely evaporate after Kerry were elected, leaving him with little support to do anything, even if he wanted to.

Or -if- Kerry does lack cohesive backing, the same forces that almost passed the VSE in the House could persuade Kerry to support a space program merely by trading the right horses.

If a President Kerry is lacking in inherent support (as you suggest and which I will presume true for this post whether or not I believe it true) then he is particularly susceptible to focused political pressure.

"If a President Kerry is lacking in inherent support (as you suggest and which I will presume true for this post whether or not I believe it true) then he is particularly susceptible to focused political pressure."

That can cut the other way - it means he could be persuaded to cut funding off at the knees if the wind shifts just a wee bit. Oh, space exploration was the focus last year. This year it's X. Particulary as, from what I can tell, the Progressive elements of the Dem party are dead set against anything resembling space.

Kerry would return to Clinton space policy

The only PUBLIC statements Kerry has made during this campaign about space policy have been negative regarding VSE and positive regarding Clinton's space policies. I take those public statements to mean more than the word of unnamed staffers who claim otherwise.

There are other reasons to expect a Kerry presidency to adhere to Clinton's space policy. Bush people will be out, and Democratic people will be in, which means a lot of the people who worked for Clinton. Where else will Kerry go for Democratic staffers with Presidential executive experience?

I'll say this much... if I were undecided between two candidates, and I heard a rumor that one was going to fund a flags-and-footprints mission to Mars, I'd vote for the other one.