One of these days, Osama - Pow! - Straight to the moon!

In one of the more bizarre policy initiatives of an increasingly bizarre administration, President Obama's NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, indicated that one of his principal objectives is to "reach out to Muslims":

NASA administrator Charles Bolden says President Obama has ordered him to pursue three new objectives: to “re-inspire children” to study science and math, to “expand our international relationships,” and to “reach out to the Muslim world.” Of those three goals, Bolden said in a recent interview with al-Jazeera, the mission to reach out to Muslims is “perhaps foremost,” because it will help Islamic nations “feel good” about their scientific accomplishments [emphasis mine].

Now, unless this is part of a devious, super-secret plan to lure Muslim terrorists onto a rocket for a one-way trip to the moon (Operation Ralph Kramden?), it's difficult to see the sense of the proposal. In the first place, Muslim countries will most likely view this outreach as another of the administration's acts of cringing ingratiation that so thoroughly smack of weakness. Secondly, it seems like a move of unwitting condescension, in which the U.S. pats the Muslims on the head and tells them what splendid fellows they are for having had ancestors who made important contributions to math and science, oh, some four or five hundred years ago.

This is an administration that manages to get everything wrong, from the big policies to the small gestures. Obama is like, I dunno, Hulk-Carter, smashing our society with brute, super-strong incompetence. Hurry 2012!