Time to Soar in 2004

" ... the space program could soar again, they said, even with modest funding increases — if it is revitalized by bold leadership and tough political calls ..."

"We're at our best when we're given our biggest challenges," he said. "When the challenges are mediocre, when they don't call on us to reach beyond ourselves, we have a tendency to perform in a mediocre fashion."

"All of these troubles raise the question of whether the nation has the technical muscle to achieve President Bush's vision of setting up a human base on the moon and sending Americans to Mars, a plan he is expected to announce next week."

For Space Glory, Reach for the Stars, Experts say
New York Times, January 10, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/10/science/10FLIG.html