Mark R. Whittington wrote:

My guess is that we would probably see the end of Americans in space
under a Kerry administration, sooner or later. It's pretty clear that
regardless of what some people might want, we can't keep the shuttles
flying for more than about ten years in any case.

Dumping the shuttle as soon as ISS is complete makes sense. The real
question is: Will a successor be ready until then? Differntly put:
Will NASA get its act together?

I do not follow US politics enough to have any opinion on Kerry, but
I believe that what NASA needs is a president who kicks some behind
for the string of high-profile failures stretching back many decades.
And I do not think any canidate, of neither party, cares enough about
space to do this.

Robert Kitzmueller