Inspired kids will reach for stars under Obama (Sally Ride)

A really, really lovely endorsement from the first American woman to travel in space.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/opinion/orl-opride2908oct29,0,2371950.story

Somewhere in America today, there's a 10-year-old girl who could be the first person to walk on Mars. She's probably playing with a toy chemistry set or a kid's telescope right now, gazing up at the heavens and dreaming big dreams. I know a lot about that girl because in 1961, during the inspirational early days of our space program, that was me.

The world that girl will enter, and in particular the state of our space and science industries, is different for her than it was for me. In some ways, she has greater opportunities. While still unacceptably behind men, women have more avenues to becoming scientists today than they did when I answered a call in a newspaper ad to become an astronaut. In other ways, our space program has lost the national stature it had when I was growing up. In both regards, though, we can and must do better.

I believe this election is critical to how well we will respond to these challenges. I believe it will determine how well and how quickly we sow the seeds of opportunity so that little girl dreaming big dreams can achieve them like I achieved mine. And with these beliefs in mind, I will be voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Our space program is at a crossroads, and it will take a new generation of leadership to inspire our children to reach for the stars. President. John Kennedy understood that by calling on our nation to shoot for the moon, he'd inspire thousands of young people (including me) to study harder at math and science in ways that would enrich our country and expand our horizons.

During this campaign, I have seen young people respond to Obama the way I responded then. He has inspired young people to engage with their communities and has excited them about the possibilities of what they can accomplish. That is in the best spirit of discovery.

Obama also has impressed me with his grasp of the challenges our space program faces and his agenda for where we go from here. Obama clearly understands the importance of human spaceflight and exploration. That is why he supports increasing NASA's budget to close the gap in American spaceflight capability.

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I wish the unmanned space program was as well represented as the astronauts in shaping America's future space vision. Sally Ride went all the way to low Earth Orbit. Basically going from New York to DC and you traveled as far as Sally Ride and for a far cheaper price. Hey and you did as much valuable scientific research as her along the way.

One of the things that is moving is to look at the faces of young men and women at his rallies. There have been stories about students, especially African American boys who have made noticeable changes and they've credited Obama for this change.