NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified†to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
In a heated 40-minute conversation last week with Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator who heads the space transition team, a red-faced Griffin demanded to speak directly to Obama, according to witnesses.
Aw, this is sad 🙁 Why is the head of NASA being such a dick?
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Tiki, I know you’re head-over-heels for Obama, but are you seriously wondering WHY the head of NASA is just a tad bit upset?
Obama’s basically been looking into NASA and trying to find a good reason or explanation to continue pouring money into the organization.
Chances are, NASA’s administrator is passionate about his job and the work his people are doing. How would you feel if somebody came along and started questioning how relevant your work was, and basically seemed to be thinking that a lot of the resources you were using were being wasted?
Even if Obama’s right, I still don’t see what you expect from NASA’s administrator. You want him to just roll over and admit that his job and organization is a colossal waste of money? I can actually admire the fact that this guy would stand up to the President-elect, even if I do think that a smaller budget for NASA may be a good thing.
No, I’m not wondering why he’s ‘a tad bit upset’. I’m wondering why he’s refusing to work with the incoming president’s transition team. I’m wondering why he’s unwilling or unable to defend the expenditures and programs that are on the books.
I expect NASA’s administrator to play well with other people. I do not share your opinion that ‘his job and organization is a colossal waste of money’, but I do expect him to be able to be able to explain what’s going on. There’s a TON of good that comes from the NASA program, ranging from the mundane (oh wow, crystals grow like crazy in zero g, who would have though) to the imperative, like launching satellites or fixing Hubble for the 20th time.
Just to repeat, I’m not questioning the programs or even the administrator’s past performance, I’m questioning why a professional that’s the head of NASA won’t sit down and explain the ‘what’s what’ of his organization to the incoming president’s team.
I simply see somebody who takes an awful lot of pride in his job getting upset because people he thinks to be extremely ignorant of his job have found themselves fit to question it. Not to mention all the rumors of budget slimming. He could be more mature, yeah, and definitely should be, but I think it’s pretty easy to see why somebody would be upset.
The head of the transition team is/was a NASA administrator. How is she not qualified? I would expect an administrator is in that job, precisely because he can deal w/ all that administrative stuff, which includes the politics of NASA. NASA is a government entity and has to deal w/ the policies of various administrations over time. Throwing a temper tantrum is hardly a testament to the man’s abilities as a grown-up let alone an administrator.
Mike Griffin has been a terrible NASA administrator and knows that he’s going to get fired no matter what. Right now he’s trying to make it look like he’s being fired for political reasons.
It’s fine that Griffin is passionate about and proud of the work he does, but instead of being a dick and getting defensive, wouldn’t it serve his interests to project that sense of pride and importance by cooperating and justifying the work he does? If I were on Obama’s transition team, and I saw someone get defensive, I’d wonder if there was a reason for it; my assumption would be that, pride and passion aside, Griffin can’t justify the work he does, neither the programs nor the costs. Considering that so many people have no idea why we’re pumping money into a “space station” that looks like it was made of Tinker Toys, or what we’re supposed to learn from setting rovers loose on Mars, I’d say it would be in his best interest to calm the hell down and project better to an American public that’s losing its retirement funds, housing, and ways of life in some economically poor times. Otherwise, I’d be inclined to give a big Fuck You to NASA. We need that money here.
I’ve always been a proponent of NASA. I like the idea that we’re still doing “stuff” in space. I do wonder if Griffin knows Garver and has a problem w/ her, specifically.