By Billy House and William March/Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Appearing in the heart of Florida's Space Coast, Barack Obama said Saturday that he has decided to drop his long-standing proposal to help pay for his program for early childhood education by trimming the NASA budget.
In making that announcement, Obama also seemed to take issue with some media for continuing to report as of Saturday morning that he had been proposing a delay for NASA's next generation of manned space vehicles and a return to the moon, and then travel to Mars.
The Tampa Tribune, for instance, reported Saturday that Obama would be questioned about the issue by space industry workers expected to attend Saturday's meeting at City Hall in Titusville, near the Kennedy Space Center.
"I know it's still being reported that we were talking about delaying some aspects of the Constellation program to pay for our early education program," Obama said in remarks to the crowd.
"I told my staff we're going to find an entirely different offset, because we've got to make sure that the money that's going into NASA for basic research and development continues to go there," Obama said. "That has been a top priority for us."
But how long that has been a priority is uncertain.
What Obama did not mention Saturday was that even his own campaign team - as late as Friday - had not updated his position on the issue.
On Friday, his Web site still specified that his $10 billion-a-year early education plan would be paid, in part, by "delaying the NASA Constellation program for five years using purchase cards and the negotiating power of the government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole."
In its story Saturday, The Tribune also noted that Obama's campaign would not discuss on Friday whether he was sticking to or about to reverse his position on Constellation.
But by Saturday morning, there was evidence the Obama Web site had suddenly been changed. Where the reference to delaying the Constellation program for five years had been, there instead appeared a slightly garbled sentence that appeared as if someone cut the NASA reference and inserted notes. It read:
"Barack Obama's early education and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year. you will pay for this plan without increasing the deficit with a portion of the savings from your plan to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending. This includes reforming and reducing earmark spending, reforming federal contracting procedures, using purchase cards and the negotiating power of the government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole."
Obama Accused Of 'Pandering'
Republican John McCain's campaign immediately seized upon Obama's remarks.
"Today, in Florida, Barack Obama once again demonstrated that his words really don't matter," the campaign said in a statement.
"When discussing NASA programs, Barack Obama said that 'it's still being reported' that he would delay the NASA Constellation program to pay for his early education program. Unfortunately for Barack Obama, that is what he proposed and has been saying for months."
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson called Obama's remarks "pandering."
"Despite his pandering today, Barack Obama's proposals to postpone scientific exploration and cut funding for NASA simply highlight his inexperience with regards to space policy. Unlike Obama, John McCain will ensure that our astronauts have the resources needed to begin a new era of space exploration," Wilkerson said.
A Modified Proposal
In response, Obama campaign spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh said his decision not to delay the Constellation program by at least five years to 2020 or later "is not a reversal."
Rather, she said he has modified an earlier proposal that creates a "win-win" scenario by keeping Constellation on track while funding the early education program through alternative spending offsets.
Although she could not provide dollar-for-dollar trade-offs, Marsh noted that other ways the campaign has identified to help pay for the early education program are reforming and reducing earmark spending and reforming federal contracting procedures.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee was hitting back at McCain. In a statement, the committee said it is McCain, not Obama, who must explain past positions on NASA and space programs.
"Once again, John McCain and his campaign have decided to take the low road rather than defend his own record on NASA issues," DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said. "Not only has McCain voted to take funding from NASA to fund other priorities, but his 'fantasy' plan to pay for making the Bush's tax cuts permanent by freezing discretionary funding and vetoing every bill with earmarks would cost the Mars mission millions."
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@mediageneral.com. Reporter William March can be reached at wmarch@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7761.
In making that announcement, Obama also seemed to take issue with some media for continuing to report as of Saturday morning that he had been proposing a delay for NASA's next generation of manned space vehicles and a return to the moon, and then travel to Mars.
The Tampa Tribune, for instance, reported Saturday that Obama would be questioned about the issue by space industry workers expected to attend Saturday's meeting at City Hall in Titusville, near the Kennedy Space Center.
"I know it's still being reported that we were talking about delaying some aspects of the Constellation program to pay for our early education program," Obama said in remarks to the crowd.
"I told my staff we're going to find an entirely different offset, because we've got to make sure that the money that's going into NASA for basic research and development continues to go there," Obama said. "That has been a top priority for us."
But how long that has been a priority is uncertain.
What Obama did not mention Saturday was that even his own campaign team - as late as Friday - had not updated his position on the issue.
On Friday, his Web site still specified that his $10 billion-a-year early education plan would be paid, in part, by "delaying the NASA Constellation program for five years using purchase cards and the negotiating power of the government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole."
In its story Saturday, The Tribune also noted that Obama's campaign would not discuss on Friday whether he was sticking to or about to reverse his position on Constellation.
But by Saturday morning, there was evidence the Obama Web site had suddenly been changed. Where the reference to delaying the Constellation program for five years had been, there instead appeared a slightly garbled sentence that appeared as if someone cut the NASA reference and inserted notes. It read:
"Barack Obama's early education and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year. you will pay for this plan without increasing the deficit with a portion of the savings from your plan to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending. This includes reforming and reducing earmark spending, reforming federal contracting procedures, using purchase cards and the negotiating power of the government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole."
Obama Accused Of 'Pandering'
Republican John McCain's campaign immediately seized upon Obama's remarks.
"Today, in Florida, Barack Obama once again demonstrated that his words really don't matter," the campaign said in a statement.
"When discussing NASA programs, Barack Obama said that 'it's still being reported' that he would delay the NASA Constellation program to pay for his early education program. Unfortunately for Barack Obama, that is what he proposed and has been saying for months."
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson called Obama's remarks "pandering."
"Despite his pandering today, Barack Obama's proposals to postpone scientific exploration and cut funding for NASA simply highlight his inexperience with regards to space policy. Unlike Obama, John McCain will ensure that our astronauts have the resources needed to begin a new era of space exploration," Wilkerson said.
A Modified Proposal
In response, Obama campaign spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh said his decision not to delay the Constellation program by at least five years to 2020 or later "is not a reversal."
Rather, she said he has modified an earlier proposal that creates a "win-win" scenario by keeping Constellation on track while funding the early education program through alternative spending offsets.
Although she could not provide dollar-for-dollar trade-offs, Marsh noted that other ways the campaign has identified to help pay for the early education program are reforming and reducing earmark spending and reforming federal contracting procedures.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee was hitting back at McCain. In a statement, the committee said it is McCain, not Obama, who must explain past positions on NASA and space programs.
"Once again, John McCain and his campaign have decided to take the low road rather than defend his own record on NASA issues," DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said. "Not only has McCain voted to take funding from NASA to fund other priorities, but his 'fantasy' plan to pay for making the Bush's tax cuts permanent by freezing discretionary funding and vetoing every bill with earmarks would cost the Mars mission millions."
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@mediageneral.com. Reporter William March can be reached at wmarch@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7761.