'Get to Mars during my first term'

[DuckforcoveR]

I think it's entirely possible but there's too much that can go unnecessarily wrong by rushing it. With that said, (surprisingly) I don't blame Obama either. Congress is in charge of appropriations and NASA's budget has been on the chopping block more than French Heads. The Budget has gone down steadily since we landed on the moon and (other than a small "BLIP" in the early 90's) has been the subject of cut after cut from EVERY congress for the last 45 years. 

NASA "made us great" at one point and we just forgot. I would certainly rather spend the money on space than on more bombs and tanks.