Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't go so far as to say no long term value -- a fly-by would be good preparation for an asteroid mission or a Mars/Phobos orbital mission. In fact it might be possible to do the follow-on mission with the same ship. NASA clearly needs an intermediate step between LEO and putting a man on Mars. Venus flyby plus teleoperated rovers is the easiest mission I can think of that might also be useful.
I meant not to imply it would be worthless, merely that it is not part of the traditional narrative of 1. Moon 2. Mars 3. ? 4. FTL to distant stars 5.Profit We are never going to get outside the solar system in any meaningful way unless physics changes a lot, so any exploration of our backyard will be valuable. I just think any attempt beyond the traditional approach will benefit the soul of the human race, as much a…
I'd agree with the both of you on the value of big space exploration projects as driving our culture.