(January 21, 2004) — On Wednesday President George W. Bush announced his new plan to “gain a new foothold on the moon. and to prepare for new journeys to the world beyond our own.” The president was referring to his newly-created plan for NASA to concentrate its efforts on exploring deep space. His main goal is for America to “finish what it started.” Funny–last time I checked, it was the Russians who started the “space race” with Sputnik and the Americans who followed shortly thereafter. Of course, we are the current leaders in space discovery, but that is beside the point. “Finishing what we started” is beginning to seem like something the president is having increasing trouble with. The war in Iraq is supposedly over, yet there still seems to be a helicopter crash or troop firefight almost every week, usually with at least two American causalities each time. The government will be giving a proposed $12 billion to NASA over the next five years, and the president has already asked Congress to increase the agency’s budget, while at the same time keeping up-to-date facts about war efforts undisclosed. But let’s forget about the war for a second and think about what this new “journey” into deep space will actually bring us, the hardworking taxpayers of America. Not much, probably, aside from more taxes to pay. Sure the quest for knowledge is an important part of life, but how will the average Joe benefit from close-up pictures of Pluto? “We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit,” Bush said. I think that right now, as President Bush’s approval rating is wavering, flying an unmanned spaceship into the cosmos won’t really help with improving national spirit. Bringing back our soldiers alive, though, just might.