President Bush has a lot of hard work and explaining to do.
The American people have a right to know what drove the White House to force NASA administrator Richard Truly to resign at a time that could not have been worse for the agency.
NASA was already facing the fight of its life in the upcoming congressional budget hearings. Rivals for scarce federal dollars have been zealously trying to undercut the agency`s credibility by playing up problems with the space shuttle, the Hubble space telescope malfunction, management turnovers and policy disputes with the National Space Council.
Now the future of the space station and other vital NASA programs is riding on a lame-duck and probably embittered administrator who is supposed to assure Congress that the agency deserves a $14.9 billion budget. What a disaster.
Mr. Bush must have known of the increasing tension between NASA and the space council. So why didn`t he-or Vice President Dan Quayle- avert this crisis before it knocked NASA to its knees? . . .
Obviously, the president must move quickly to appoint a top-notch new administrator, one who has the confidence of Congress as well as the administration.
The president also needs to clarify the role of the space council so that future NASA administrators don`t find themselves entangled in similar power struggles.
In the meantime, it is up to Mr. Bush to step into the leadership vacuum he created and become America`s leading proponent of the space program.
That means becoming far more vocal in his support of NASA. This is no time for the White House to sit back and continue to let the president`s space budget ”speak for itself.”
Mr. Bush allowed America`s space program to get into this mess. It`s up to him to straighten it out.
