After reading Deke Slayton's career autobiography (DEKE!), I was left with the impression that he believed Democrats like Kennedy and Johnson got us to the moon and Republicans like Nixon and Reagan killed the dream of spaceflight beyond low earth orbit over budget-cutting. He also left me with the impression that a lot of astronauts and NASA staff of the 60's and 70's and early 80's felt that way.
I could live with that impression, since it was just his opinion though he was quite close to the action and so in a position to know. But he was also a federal government "double-dipper" and it just tickled him over what a great deal that was. Especially after he quit the Air Force after 19 years while able to work with NASA and bumming on that move. Even after his nominal CO in the USAF basically told him he could ride out his commission to retirement, he simply had to observe restrictions over his flight status.
Yeah, drawing a pension from and still working for the Federal government is a darn good deal. Especially after learning you coulda been a triple-dipper! I lost some esteem for him over reading that.
Deke Slayton was a desk jockey govt worker. A double dipper. The Germans did all teh work while desk jockeys at NASA like Deke took the glory.
Sounds like John Glenn. He was never in the league of Armstrong, Lovell, Schirra, Al Shepherd.