NASA

GOP Rep: Don't Believe White House -- NASA Was Always Planning Muslim Outreach

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 15, 2010, 3:15PM

A NASA space shuttle launch; Muslims inset.

The flap over NASA administrator Charles Bolden's call for the space agency to reach out to Muslim nations in a recent interview with Al Jazeera is alive and well in the conservative media, despite having faded from mainstream headlines following the White House press secretary's dismissal Monday of the comment as a misstatement.

FoxNews.com reports that Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) -- ranking member on the committee that oversees NASA's budgeting in the House -- says that Bolden told him personally in June that President Obama asked him to find ways to use NASA's international partnerships to reach out to the Muslim world, before the controversial Al Jazeera interview.

Fox reported that Olson had said that "Bolden described the outreach program as part of the administration's space plan during a conversation they had."

"He confirmed it to me," Olson told the site. NASA did not respond to a request for comment on Olson's statements.

Read more »

NASA

Gibbs Walks It Back: NASA Chief 'Misspoke' About Muslim Outreach (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 12, 2010, 6:07PM

A NASA space shuttle launch; Muslims inset.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden "misspoke" when he said that one of NASA's goals was to reach out to Muslim nations in an interview with Al Jazeera recently. Bolden's interview raised the hackles of right-wing commentators, at least one of whom suggested that Bolden's comments meant the Obama administration was "leading a sensitivity session" for Muslims at NASA.

Today, under questioning from CNN's Ed Henry, Gibbs told reporters at the daily press briefing that Bolden "misspoke" in the interview with Al Jazeera, when the NASA chief had said that Obama wanted Bolden "to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations, to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering."

"That was not his task, and that is not the task of NASA," Gibbs said.

Read more »

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart Smacks Down Fox News For Fear-Mongering About 'Muslims In Space' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 8, 2010, 10:15AM

Jon Stewart watched in awe last night as the gang at Fox News slammed President Barack Obama for what Stewart called their fear of "Muslims in space."

As TPM previously reported, conservatives have been fear-mongering about a new initiative in the space program to promote outreach to Muslim nations.

"What kind of presidential asshole would use the space program to build a bridge to peace?" Stewart asked, before showing a clip of President Ronald Reagan talking about using the space program to work with the Soviet Union.

"Liberal fartbag," said Stewart. "That guy had a pre-Cold War mentality when it came to NASA."

Read more »

Muslims

Right Wing: Oh Noes! NASA Doing Muslim Outreach! (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 6, 2010, 12:49PM

A NASA space shuttle launch; Muslims inset.

Have you heard? President Obama has turned NASA into one big self-esteem booster for the Muslim world. At least that's what conservative commentators -- who say they have proof Obama is ordering NASA to boldly go to the Middle East and make Muslims feel better about themselves -- are saying today.

At issue is an interview NASA administrator Charles Bolden gave to Al Jazeera while on a trip to Quatar recently. The interview came as Bolden was in the Middle East to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Obama's Cairo speech, where he called for renewed ties between the U.S. and Muslim nations around the world. Bolden renewed the message of the speech, and said that NASA will be a part of forging the new path, thanks to a new focus on international engagement included in the Obama administration's space policy guidelines released last month.

NASA says Bolden's comments are no big deal, and merely represent Bolden's attempt to reach out to his local audience. But right-wing commentators say the interview is a sign that the only booster rockets NASA will be developing under Obama are the ones that lift Muslim spirits.

Bolden's comments show "Obama's lack of interest in American achievement or, indeed, American greatness," Paul Mirengoff at the Powerline blog wrote. They reflect "Obama foreign policy, which views American national greatness as an anachronism," wrote Elliot Abrams wrote at the National Review. "Group and identity politics at its worst," Lou Dobbs said.

So, what did Bolden really say?

Read more »