More good news . . .

Today brings more good news to highlight. This post focuses on hopeful news because I am sad this weekend. Monday it will have been five years since the tragedy of 9/11/01.
Here are a few things about which I am happy:

• NASA's Space shuttle Atlantis was launched into orbit this morning towards a renewal of International Space Station assembly. This is a return to flight following the Columbia tragedy that illustrates the nation's gritty willingness to try again. In the face of aged equipment, schedule pressures, lightning strikes, and a hurricane, the STS-115 crew soared into the sky over Florida. The crew (including a single female astronaut) intends to put more parts onto the worlds biggest erector set, paving the way for the installation of multiple scientific modules developed by countries all over the world.
• A recent European space shot yielded extraordinarily rich data about our silver neighborly orb in the sky, the earth's moon. ESA's success is indeed something to celebrate in this truly international - and peaceful - space effort. By the way, British astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking is looking for an assistant, in case anyone is interested. The job pays $44,300.
• The New York Times published a story asserting that Vice-President Cheney is losing influence. And the neocon moon is on the wane. This news could not be better. To quote,

  . . . as the nation marks the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mr. Cheney finds the powers he has asserted under attack and his own influence challenged. Congress and the Supreme Court have pushed back at his claim that the president alone, as commander in chief, can set the rules for detention, interrogation and domestic spying. . .
  On national security issues, Mr. Cheney, once the unchallenged adviser to a president who came to office with little experience in foreign affairs, remains a pivotal figure but now vies for influence with other powerful officials like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser. Over the past 18 months, Mr. Cheney appears to have reluctantly given ground on detention practices and, at least for now, on policy disputes involving Iran and North Korea.

• There has been a drop in K Street's hiring of lobbyists in Washington. Worried, they are preparing for a possible takeover of the House by Democrats. This news is much more concrete than poll numbers. It is beginning to sink in. The story begins,

  Growing worry in some political corners that the Republicans won't retain control of the House in the fall elections is prompting more K Street groups to delay hiring lobbying and congressional representatives. And even White House advisers are trying to figure out how they might work with a split Congress.
  
  In an interview, a former Bush administration official said that there are very preliminary talks inside the White House about which programs and initiatives would benefit or be killed with a Democratic takeover. The former official, who now advises the administration, added that the effort is more focused on how to use a House Democratic majority to push through programs such as those on healthcare and retirement.
  
  

Many of us do not relish bad news for OCP. But in his situation, our current president has only himself to blame for administration failures that can be tied to stubbornness, arrogance or failure to hire good people. I wanted the president to succeed at the beginning, but I knew I was hoping against hope. Unfortunately, it will take many years to repair the damage. That makes it even more important to begin right now, in 2006, with the fall elections.

Tags: politics Bush NASA Cheney
My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is about history's mysteries.