Bush's Big Idea: Put a Man on the Moon

For a president who invaded and occupied two foreign countries in his first term, the question being asked at the White House was: where next?

The moon, apparently.

With an election season getting under way, George Bush's advisers are looking around for a grand scheme for the president to launch, to help reinforce his image as a decisive leader with big ideas.

One option being seriously discussed, according to several US press reports, is a return to the moon three decades after the last human visit.

It would recall an era of exploration that most Americans remember with affection, and it would associate Mr Bush with an ambitious goal that does not require bombing.

To that end, the White House is working on a plan to refocus Nasa on "interplanetary human flight" in the wake of February's Columbia shuttle disaster.

If the lunar option is chosen, the president could make a declaration as early as December 17, when he is due to commemorate the centenary of the aeroplane, or it might be left until next year's state of the union address to Congress.

Such a speech would echo President Kennedy's resonant pledge in 1962 to put a man on the moon and Mr Bush is reported to be seeking his "Kennedy moment".

The president's advisers must be hoping that when the moment comes, it does not remind Americans of the president's father.

In a 1989 speech, he promised a return to the moon as a launching pad for further exploration of the solar system. The idea was quickly torpedoed by Congress when it looked at the $400bn (£232bn) price tag.

But the first President Bush admitted he never had "the vision thing". His son has it in spades, his supporters insist.

They cite this year's $15bn pledge to fight Aids made in this year's state of the union address. "Iraq was big. Aids is big," an unnamed senior administration official told the Washington Post. "Big works. Big grabs attention."