Thanks to TLs like Eyes Turned Skyward and Wired's Beyond Apollo blog, I've recaught the space bug and have been looking into plans and proposals for space stations over the last few decades. Very cool stuff, and quite depressing that only a small fraction of them ever went up.
Now, I know the Shuttle gets a lot of flak (and deservedly so) for sucking up NASA funding while keeping the program in a perpetual tailspin, but I've also seen posts that lament JFK's 'put a man on the moon within the decade' speech for throwing the space program out of whack and forcing NASA to throw resources into a focus they weren't really ready for.
So, overall, what do you think set back the development and deployment of American space stations the most?
So, overall, what do you think set back the development and deployment of American space stations the most?