In terms of the cost, Bush gave an estimate only for the initial downpayment on his space plan. He said it would cost $12 billion over the next five years, but only $1 billion in new funds. The remainder would come from money reallocated under NASA's five-year budget. Thus, it would be for Bush's successors to figure out how to finance the costliest part of the plan.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who flew on a space shuttle in 1986, questioned whether $1 billion in extra funding would be enough. "You can't go to the moon by 2014 with that," Nelson said.

--AP

Lowballing the cost of a cockamamie testosterone-fueled fantasy -- sound familiar?

NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, March 25, 2003:

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Today I'm sending the Congress a wartime supplemental appropriations request of $74.7 billion to fund needs directly arising from the Iraqi conflict and our global war against terror....

KWAME HOLMAN: For weeks, congressional Democrats had criticized the administration for withholding the true costs of the war. After being briefed by the president yesterday, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd said the American people should know $75 billion is only the beginning.

SENATOR ROBERT BYRD: This is the down payment. There's more to come, and we've got to level with the American people. We need to let the American people know up front as much as we can what the costs are expected to be.