Vice President Pence’s speech today calling for a new military branch devoted to fighting wars in outer space helps solve at least one big problem at the Pentagon: how to spend all the money that the Trump Administration is sluicing its way. Sounding like Troy McClure, Pence might excite a few kids on summer vacation who miss the Sputnik hysteria that turbo-charged my generation’s urge to boldly go et cetera, but otherwise it was just another embarrassing hoot from the Veep. Of course the generals are lining up now to board the saucer, knowing well that there is no more powerful career booster than burning billions of dollars as fast as possible.
Update 10/23: “What price, freedom?” Pence, born in 1959, channels the Sputnik era again with Cold War magic words.
