THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

Last week I repeated my all-out support for space exploration. A lot of you, including Rick, have a healthy suspicion of President Bush and said his Mars program was hogwash.

But Rick and the most of the rest of you hated to disagree with me openly. I appreciate the respect and courtesy this shows, but you are missing the point of WhitakerOnline.

I am putting out the best ideas I can. Your job is to chew them over and spit out what you can't use. If you disagree with the old man, the old man wants to hear about it. You do me the favor of reading my stuff. That's all I ask.

I never know what to say when someone tells me, "You know, Bob, I can't agree with everything you say."

What I want to say is, "You been in this country long?" It never occurs to a real American that anybody agrees with him all the time. Somehow I am vaguely insulted that anybody would think I would expect that.

I think WhitakerOnline readers are a special breed, and you know I don't deal in flattery. I write for people with strong minds who can use what I say in their own way. That is the only kind of person who is worth my time.