The Bush plan could easily cost a hundred billion more with no guarantee that it will actually work. A third line of criticism warned against overturning past nuclear weapons treaties. Moreover, as TechCentralStation reader Jay MacDonald comments, police officers feel better about confronting a dangerous situation wearing a bulletproof vest, even though they still risk being shot in the face. And that s what the public thinks. As CNN political analyst Bill Schneider said last week, The public is still inclined to support a missile defense system.
Support is never overwhelming, but it is consistent.
Yet as with so many issues, intense opposition from the few especially when those few are entrenched atop the commanding heights of the intelligentsia can trump the more diffuse support from the many. That is, if Bush wants to get NMD enacted, he will have to push his message past the salons of the elites, into the living rooms and kitchen tables of the masses. As the saying goes, only when Congress feels the heat will it see the light. If opponents despise Star Wars now, it s easy to anticipate the boffo decibel-level protest of those same critics when US defenses really do start reaching toward the stars. As with any other human endeavor, success has more to do with perspiration than inspiration.