Sagan was one of those people who, like Isaac Asimov (my childhood hero), I may have disagreed strongly about in certain political areas, but who I nonetheless had profound respect for. He tried his best at communicating science to the public, and except when he confounded scientific fact with personal opinion, did a damn good job in my estimation.
It seems to me Asimov was much better at seperating his personal views from science. I don't remember him making the kind of crackpot statements that Sagan did on occassion, though I will admit it is possible I somehow missed it.
Sorry for not getting on earlier, will post later today.