NASA leadership
Regarding “Failure to launch” (Page A16, Friday), it was with some consternation that I read this editorial. Jim Bridenstine, the nominee for NASA administrator, has been subjected to the vilest campaign of politically motivated demonization since the dark days of Joe McCarthy. The objection that he is a politician does not pass the laugh test. James Webb and Sean O’Keefe came from the political world and are considered some of the finest leaders NASA ever had. To be sure, he has expressed some reservations about climate change, but he pledged during the hearings that he would not interfere in any way in the study of the phenomenon by NASA scientists.
Bridenstine has been endorsed by scientists, commercial space players and even Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin. He is a former naval aviator, a graduate of Rice University here in Houston, and holds an MBA from Cornell. His degree would serve him well in the brave new world of commercial partnerships with NASA in space exploration. As an elected official with a keen interest in space policy, Bridenstine has some unique experience that will further good relations between the space agency and Congress.
To deny Bridenstine confirmation would constitute the worst travesty ever inflicted on a man who is eager to serve his country and take America back to the moon and beyond. The politicians who are standing in his way should stop forthwith and vote to confirm.