AFAIK, Jim will become candidate for the House or the Senate in the following election. That's why he is positioning himself like that.
Many former NASA members are or have been in politics, from former Senator Glenn to Senator Kelly.
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AFAIK, Jim will become candidate for the House or the Senate in the following election. That's why he is positioning himself like that.
Many former NASA members are or have been in politics, from former Senator Glenn to Senator Kelly.
Yes, Bridenstine was a House member before, no doubt will go back into politics (of course, being head of NASA, he never left it). So Bxr140's drive by disparagement notwithstanding, Bridenstine did the right thing here.
I will confess that I do indeed value the content of one's character over their political affiliation.
That said, I also appreciate that many Americans find it easier to wrap their heads around the latter, so I sympathize with your position as well.
In any case, I'm sure it will flummox you that I believe Bridenstine did a fine job as NASA administrator. I have no major qualms with his performance, believe he did the best he could with the situation, and even will echo his comments on bipartisanship which I'll further editorialize as quite refreshing given our current political climate.
Sorry about that.
I was kind of taken back when Jim came out and made that statement about not being there if Biden won. NASA has had quite a lot of success and I would assume Biden would want to see the organization continue on under his leadership regardless of him having been a Republican congressman. I took Jim's statement to be as more that he couldn't work with a Democrat president than anything else. Has Biden opposed NASA plans and funding in the past? I don't get why he wouldn't have trust in maintaining the status quo at NASA.
I just found the whole announcement strange and off-putting and essentially saying I don't want to work for you. I can see Cabinet members being someone you want to personally choose but just never saw this as effecting who runs the space program. If he personally felt that he couldn't work under an Democrat president (who has said he wants to work with both parties for the sake of all Americans), I think the tactful and more respectful thing to have done would be to have said nothing and tendered his resignation at a later date. The timing to me seemed questionable despite all the bipartisan talk. I think he has done a good job and don't think it's been an easy one. While I think this back and forth has gone on for decades, maybe not to this extent, I think it's such an ugly reflection on America and really don't think it has a place in what should be a unified approach to space.
I just found the whole announcement strange and off-putting and essentially saying I don't want to work for you. I can see Cabinet members being someone you want to personally choose but just never saw this as effecting who runs the space program. If he personally felt that he couldn't work under an Democrat president (who has said he wants to work with both parties for the sake of all Americans), I think the tactful and more respectful thing to have done would be to have said nothing and tendered his resignation at a later date. The timing to me seemed questionable despite all the bipartisan talk. I think he has done a good job and don't think it's been an easy one. While I think this back and forth has gone on for decades, maybe not to this extent, I think it's such an ugly reflection on America and really don't think it has a place in what should be a unified approach to space.
You'll find out what he meant after the fact when he takes his next job.
I may well be naive about how NASA gets run and never thought much about it but personally have always thought you choose the best candidate for the job. Saw a lot of let's say under qualified people get appointed to government related positions and think America suffers. While Texas and Florida have huge stakes in a supportive, favorable pick to advance the NASA program, I’m not forgetting that JFK pushed hard for the moon and certainly did much to advance our presence in space.
In any event I hope that Kathy will be continuing on in place and bringing stability to NASA’s programs going forward.
In any event I hope that Kathy will be continuing on in place and bringing stability to NASA’s programs going forward.
Looks like I have to spell out Bridenstine’s statement. He is likely to go back into politics as a Republican, and if he goes back to his home state, that would be Oklahoma, a fairly Republican state. If he were to stay on and work for a Democrat President, it would absolutely hurt his chances of winning a Republican primary. So this has nothing to do with what he personally thinks of Democrats or Biden, it has to do with the realities of electoral politics. Yes, you sometimes have Democrats or Republicans who work in the opposite administration, but they hail from squishy states or have no interest in resuming their political career afterwards.
Hasn’t Trump changed party affiliation a number of times? I got what your implication was for Jim without spelling out, I just approach elections and jobs differently I guess. With Jim’s position open now just hope NASA gets someone as well qualified. Not many people have a chance to lead a country into space, and especially with the potential that SpaceX has helped foster.
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Nikxice
Active Member
Eric Berger
@SciGuySpace
With just two days left in his tenure, I want to take a moment publicly thank
@JimBridenstine
for being open, honest, and accessible to the media. He rarely blamed the media, and often acknowledged our role in both publicizing NASA while also keeping the agency honest.
10:56 AM · Jan 18, 2021·TweetDeck
Agree with Eric. I was skeptical at first, but think overall Bridenstine did a fine job. During interviews he demonstrated preparedness by giving substantive answers. Likeable guy, he'll probably do well in whatever he chooses to pursue.
@SciGuySpace
With just two days left in his tenure, I want to take a moment publicly thank
@JimBridenstine
for being open, honest, and accessible to the media. He rarely blamed the media, and often acknowledged our role in both publicizing NASA while also keeping the agency honest.
10:56 AM · Jan 18, 2021·TweetDeck
Agree with Eric. I was skeptical at first, but think overall Bridenstine did a fine job. During interviews he demonstrated preparedness by giving substantive answers. Likeable guy, he'll probably do well in whatever he chooses to pursue.
Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine joins Viasat’s board
Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine joins Viasat’s board
spacenews.com
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