For the Shuttle to be cancelled by politicians is one thing; that's just democracy in action. For the Shuttle to fail under its own weight is quite another; th

For the Shuttle to be cancelled by politicians is one thing; that's just democracy in action. For the Shuttle to fail under its own weight is quite another; that's technical and organizational failure. The latter reflects poorly on the politicians who oversaw it and the country generally. It would have been a bad look for Carter's legacy, whether or not he hated NASA.