Washington sets sights on round-trip tickets in the solar system

Though I normally don't agree with ol' "Oil Can" Bush [on The War, fellow rich folks getting tax breaks, allowing our standard of living to fall, "outsourcing jobs", allowing Mexicans to legally work in our country, etc.] he does have my vote on his space objectives even moreso now since on Thursday one of the bills he backed went through a presidential commission to set up space tourism guidelines. By doing so, these House reps also agreed to allow those in the private sector to build their own rockets thereby setting the stage for more research being done in intrasolar travel. [Incidentally, the next commission meeting is scheduled for the 25th.]
However, the big day of the month could be Tuesday when NASA announces its findings of there once having been water on Mars and, as such, the potential for The Red Planet to have supported life in the past. [Although who knows what we might find there eventually? Don't forget there are methane-breathing microbes living even today within the geysers of Yellowstone.]
As for John Glenn's criticisms, I most certainly empathize with the venerable Senator/Astronaut and yet I see such plans as laid out by The President this January [to put a base on The Moon in order to get to Mars] as a way to stimulate the interest of the general public.
True, I have been fascinated by those pictures and studies that have been done by Hubble - and agree that science should still be a priority in the space program - but feel more money will be granted to NASA as the idea of man exploring the outer space that surrounds his home world takes hold.