Both
Rand Simberg who is, as usual, clueless and
Allahpundit who should know better, not only proclaim Obama;s abandonment of the Moon, but express amaze that so many conservatives are unhappy about it. Rand even goes so far as to proclaim Obama's space policy as "conservative."
Mind, keeping in mind that commercializing Earth to LEO space flight is a good idea, it remains only half a manned space program. Canceling the space exploration program and keeping Americans in low Earth orbit for the foreseeable future is not conservative. It is a conceding of the high frontier of space to other countries, some of them unfriendly.
Mind, if there were any evidence that the new policy was going to cobble together a commercial or private/public program to get people back to the Moon, I might support it. But there is no evidence, baring some vague talk of a heavy lift vehicle that the President and his people do not regard space exploration with anything but loathing. Obama regards the idea of American exceptionalism with deep contempt. And human explorers on other worlds has been, so far, the perfect expression of American exceptionalism.
Just a couple of other retorts. Canceling the space exploration program does not constitute fiscal responsibility. The cost of sending human explorers beyond LEO is a rounding error compared to the stimulus bill and other madcap spending by this administration. If simply cutting government spending were in and of itself a conservative value, then conservatives would be in favor of gutting the military and homeland security.
Finally all the grousing about the technical problems that Ares 1 ran into ignores the two facts expressed by the Augustine Committee.
First, every rocket development program runs into problems. Elon Musk's Falcon 1 failed four times before succeeding twice in a row. No one is suggesting that SpaceX is a mess or that its COTS funding should be cancelled. There seems to be a recognition insofar as private space projects go that technical challenges and setbacks are part of what happens when developing new technology. Why not when the same occurs at NASA? There seems to be a double standard here.
Second, the only problem with the program of record it that it was underfunded; Norm Augustine has said so, though the people dancing a jig about the proposed cancellation seem to ignore. One wonders if the Obama plan, if it ever sees the light of day, will not also be underfunded. If so we'll be right back with a special commission asking why our space program is so dysfunctional during the next administration and another few years and billions will have been wasted as we propose changing course and starting new paradigms yet again.