Houston, We Have a Whiner

Oh, children, this whole Kerry-In-The-Bunny-Suit business is becoming quite the little story.

Our intrepid reporter on the launchpads, Nick the NASA Poobah, has checked in with the confirmation that the defiled orbiter in question is indeed the lovely and talented Discovery. She is slated to carry the banner for the Return to Flight mission, but given what just happened to her I wouldn't be surprised if she were benched for counseling and some high-octane post traumatic stress disorder treatment.

In case you're just joining us, this picture has caused widespread snickering amongst the press, snickering which has now spread to the general populace.

This is when it's fun to actually know what one is talking about. First of all, it's SOP for NASA to snap away for PR events such as this (sorry, as per NASA regulations, I am forced to instinctively switch to Acronym Mode.) They do it for historical purposes; their photo archives are among the most thrillingly comprehensive of all the governmental agencies (and, as you know, all the kids are lining up around the block to dig through the photo albums of the Department of Agriculture.) It was An Event for NASA for one of the Presidential candidates to pay a visit to KSC, and so they posted the photos right on their webpage to show everybody what was up at the Cape.

And that is what slays me about all this sudden pique. Kerry popped into KSC for a publicity tour. He wasn't there to inspect the engine bell replacements on Atlantis. He was there for a photo op. You can imagine his shock, then, when PICTURES of the occasion were slapped all over the web.

In NASA World, it's simply second nature to be wearing one of these suits in a cleanroom environment (as was reflected my reaction to the photo--sheer disgusted jealousy as opposed to bemused... amusement.) NASA had no ill will in its starry heart; since this is just space business as usual, it didn't for one moment perceive the photo as damaging.

Let me just pause for a second and take off the NASA batting helmet to make room for my poli sci BA bonnet and, once again, say this about that:

1) By appearing on Brit Hume's broadcast to blame NASA for the fact that Kerry looks stupid in a bunny suit, his campaign managers have done nothing but ensure that everybody will talk about this even more.

2) And due to this extra attention, we've now got Drudge re-involved. This pushed not only That Picture right back to the masthead on his site, but the rest of the Bunny Suit Brigade photos as well.

There's also a 3:

3) What the Kerry campaign should have said is something along the lines of: "Senator Kerry is profoundly grateful to have been afforded a backstage view of the shuttle program that most Americans are not able to see. He is proud to have been photographed wearing the same gear that the dedicated NASA employees who keep the agency moving wear every day."

See, this is what happens when nobody asks me.

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