President Barack Obama on Monday instructed scientists at NASA responsible for the roving robot Curiosity, which landed on Mars last week, to let him know if the robot found life there. Calling NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California from Air Force One, Obama said, "If in fact, you do make contact with Martians, please let me know right away. I've got a lot of other things on my plate, but I suspect that that will go to the top of the list. Even if they're just microbes, it will be pretty exciting."

Well, that makes sense. With the failed economy, the Arab Spring that now covers the Middle East with Islamist governments, and the threat from Iran growing day by day, Obama would have to look one whale of a distance to find something he could crow about.  Mars does seem about right.

But if Curiosity doesn’t find any intelligent life there, Obama won’t be too disappointed; the robot may still run into some Democrats.