Friday, January 27, 2012

Final Florida GOP debate

H/T 2012 Election Central

The full debate below. Note: I haven't had time to watch it.



Update:

After watching this debate, I've got a bad feeling about this. Too much disinformation is out there and this could lead to a less than optimal outcome.

The problem is that Newt's space ideas are assumed to be expensive. The current system is what is expensive on a value basis. Even if spending is kept constant, but gets poor results, it is still expensive. If you aren't getting your money's worth, you are paying too much. The assumption that it take hundreds of billions of dollars to go to the moon and set up a base is just plain ridiculous.

Both Romney and Santorum hit Newt on this and it may be a bad thing. It doesn't help to have this bit of disinformation keep on getting reinforced by these two guys. As far as I'm concerned, both of them are part of the problem if this is an example of the way they think.

Newt is on the right track. He may not get it 100% right in all of its elements, but he closer to being on the right track with regards to space than the others were.

Update:

Here's Romney saying something that is clearly an exaggeration, to put it mildly. It won't cost "trillions" to go back to the moon.  Project Apollo cost $170 billion in 2005 dollars, and had to start nearly from scratch.

Not trillions, but $15 billion according to Bill Stone of Shackleton Energy.
If a President Gingrich got Congress to offer a $15 billion prize for Stone, or anybody else, in order to lead an expedition to the moon, and set up a refueling depot, somebody might finance the attempt.

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