Does 'Transformational Technology' include unobtainium?

Eric Hedman had a piece in The Space Review this week about
'transformational technology.'

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/337/1

I think he was saying that the vision for space exploration 'needs it,'
or something. Just what 'it' is, he's not able to define so
well--apparently it's the magic juice that gets Space Ship 1 to orbit
or something.

Come on, isn't the heydey of management buzzwords like 'synergy,',
'customer-centric', and 'transformational technology' behind us? Let's
be honest, what the Vision for Space Exploration needs to succeed is
not new buzzwords but better management and more money. If a heavy lift
launcher is necessary to get the thing underway, so be it. Just let the
private sector own it. And for god's sake don't base it on the shuttle
unless you plan to transfer the whole thing to a private concern.

Tom Cuddihy

actually forgot to mention the main reason I wanted to comment on this
--Hedman's article adds some bizarre scheme for using VASMIR to change
the inclination of the station. Of course, using a continuous thrust
vehicle to change a highly inclined LEO orbit, as anyone with a basic
understanding of orbital mechanics can tell you, is nuts.
Inclination changes are almost always done at the node (equator), since
you have to be physically AT the latitude of the inclination you want
to reach. Using a continuous thruster for that is impossible. (you
would get, what, 10 minutes of useful thrust per orbit?)

It would be possible to use a VASMIR to raise the station's
orbit--maybe take all the people off, raise it to a highly elliptical
orbit, then do the inclination change at apogee where it's cheaper--but
still using a chemical rocket. But that sounds pretty expensive to me
given the station's mass.