First he blocks the transition team, then his wife thinks she can just beg Barack for her husband to retain his job?
Rebecca Griffin, who works in marketing, sent her message with the subject line "Campaign for Mike" to friends and family. It asked them to sign an online petition to President-elect Barack Obama "to consider keeping Mike Griffin on as NASA Administrator."
She wrote, "Yes, once again I am embarrassing my husband by reaching out to our friends and 'imposing' on them.... And if this is inappropriate, I'm sorry."
Note: I'm adding this higher up, there is a counterpetition NOT linked in the article, here, which needs to be signed to counter the pro forces, just in case Obama decides this is a good move.
There is an online petition at ipetitions.com to insist he be retained as NASA administrator, which the article helpfully links to:
The petition drive, which said the President George W. Bush appointee "has brought a sense of order and purpose to the U.S. space agency," was organized by Scott "Doc" Horowitz of Park City, Utah, an ex-astronaut and former NASA associate administrator.
How can you argue with such fiscally responsible decisions such as how:
A cash-strapped NASA last week also sent — by priority mail costing $6.75 a package — copies of a new NASA book called "Leadership in Space: Selected Speeches of NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, May 2005-October 2008."
As for Griffin's book of speeches, it was a natural for the NASA history office and coincides with the end of the presidential term, Mould said. NASA printed 2,500 books at a cost of $57,000 with the ability to produce more, NASA spokeswoman Sonja Alexander said.
NASA did not publish a book of collected speeches for Griffin's two predecessors, said spokeswoman Ashley Edwards. The agency did produce a compact disk of speeches by Dan Goldin, NASA's longest-serving boss, just before he left in 2001.
But of course Griffin is a 'realist', right?
Griffin's press secretary, David Mould, said that Griffin is not campaigning to keep his job and figures that Obama will name a new NASA chief. However, Griffin would be "honored" to be asked to stay on the job.
Sir, you would be honored, and I would be enraged. You don't block efforts of your new boss to hit the ground running and then have/allow your wife to spend NASA funds to try to keep you in your plush, Bush-appointed office.
In my opinion, he should listen to one of his friends:
Former NASA Deputy Administrator Hans Mark, who recommended Griffin to the Bush administration, said Griffin and his friends are handling this wrong.
"Mike ought to play it the way (retained Defense Secretary) Bob Gates is playing it, which is to shut up," Mark said.
Griffin's wife's efforts have caused the creation of a counter-petition site, since the petition site was removing comments asking for Griffin to NOT be rehired.
You can find the counterpetition site, Remove Mike Griffin Now, here, since the article did not see fit to link to it. It currently has 129 signatures, whereas the petition to keep him has over 1800.
You know what to do!