I think if the history of Mercury/Apollo is examined dispassionately, one discovers that the failed Vienna Summit, failed Bay of Pigs

That's a thoughtful analysis, Jim. I think that, as with most large endeavors, motives were mixed all around. I believe you're quite correct on the political basis. Kennedy and the politicians of the day were sending a global message to the Roosskies (thanks, Slim Pickens) and hoping for technological advancement. Otherwise, they'd have never funded it. But I don't know if the people at NASA were thinking much about that. I think they were focused on the basic goal of getting there safely and back. Sure, the Russians were the boogeymen under everbody's bed, and NASA folk weren't immune to that. But I doubt that the politics were a key factor in the minds of the people who actually did the work. When the politicians thought the goal had been reached, they dropped it like a handful of snakes. That was a bitter disappointment to those who thought the moon was only the start of a process, rather than the termination.