Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte is the 7th private space tourist and the 1st real clown to reach orbit. Click .

Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil paid the Russians $ 35 M for a Soyuz ride to the International Space Station; he plans to give a space-worthy performance that will be streamed on the internet.

According to the BBC, Mr. Laliberte is different than anyone ever to visit orbit,

I’m an artistic person and a creator. I’m not a scientific. I’m not an engineer. Life has given me some qualities, some assets and I have built up a team of very creative people around the world. With those people I think we’ll present something that is originally creative and hopefully will have the result of sensitising people toward the situation of water in the world.

On October 9, Laliberte’s 2-hour “poetical social” performance from high above everything, will feature contributions from links to 14 cities around the world.

This is a seminal event in the expansion of human cvilization and culture into the cosmos. Although the cause celebre is the need for clean water for people everywhere, equally striking is the performance in orbit by a famous, professional entertainer.

Hopefully the 2015 Maslow Window will allow more artists to perform in space. However, in the short term — after Shuttle retirement in 2010 or 2011 — there may be few Soyuz tourist seats available as they are taken by professional astronauts on their way to work in space.

Previously (Is Obama the Next ONE?) we revealed that the next Space President (SP) will be elected in either 2012 or 2016 based on our forecast model nominal timeline. His election in 2012 would require him to be a 2-term president, assuming he wins in 2008. In a soon-to-be-released post, we’ll comment on whether Obama will be celebrating in November.

Is Obama a Space Guy? Even lovingly blind devotion to Obama can’t help but morph into concern over his current space policy: He’d delay NASA’s Constellation program by five years to help pay for an $18 billion education initiative. Well, gee wiz….artificially pitting NASA against education programs is an unsophisticated, old-fashioned idea characteristic of pre-Maslow Window times (like now). His policy would result in a decade delay in human space exploration. And, with the projected Maslow Window approaching in 5 – 7 years, he’d effectively eradicate human space exploration, until perhaps the next Maslow Window opens up in 2071.

However, we still believe Obama could be our next SP because he is an adaptable leader and a quick study. Once he recognizes the public’s increasing desire for space exploration as we approach the 2015 Maslow Window, he’ll respond. John F. Kennedy did not enter his presidency with an agenda to go to the Moon. But he rapidly responded to Soviet pressures by leading the U.S. into the 1960s space race, to inspire Americans and re-establish international prestige (See Education, Wave Guide 4).

Although Obama has taken considerable heat for his Chicago church membership, we believe it supports our point. What could be more difficult than resigning from his church of 20 years given his extensive personal connections? However, it shows that Obama learns quickly and can change rapidly according to his perception of the people’s will. If China challenges the U.S. in space and triggers an international Sputnik-like event near 2013 (as we forecast), we believe Obama’s Kennedy-like reaction would be to lead us to Mars!

The Nominal Model timeline (see The Forecasts) provides a big hint. Our SP will be elected either in 2016 (assuming 56 years after Kennedy’s election in 1960) or possibly as early as 2012. The SP will respond to an international Sputnik-like “shock” that will occur near 2013 (Sputnik in 1957 plus 56 years), so either date is a reasonable forecast. Indeed, near 2013 we expect that an international group probably headed by China will announce their intention to begin the large-scale development and colonization of space (e.g., Earth orbit, Moon, Mars, etc.).

Obama’s timing is interesting. If he is elected president this year he will probably require a second term to be the SP. If he loses this year but wins in 2012 and/or 2016 he is likely the One!

Mr. Obama has been compared often to President Kennedy because of his charisma and youth; Kennedy was 43 when elected president and Obama is 45. And like Kennedy, Obama’s popularity transcends traditional political loyalties and societal expectations. (Even Rudy Guiliani’s daughter supports Obama!) His youth, mixed heritage, and Harvard education lends him a symbolic strength.

Much like Kennedy, Obama’s candidacy has come during turbulent times when Americans are seeking “change.” They’re attracted to Obama because he is the most progressive presidential candidate. His charisma has overshadowed questions about his lack of experience and his candidacy has become a fashionable cause. While Hilary Clinton may appear to have more experience than Obama, her public image has suffered (e.g., “Sniper-gate”) throughout her campaign and she is simply not as personable or inspiring. It is much like a high school student council election where the most popular and good-looking candidate receives the most support overshadowing the smart, ugly girl.

Like Obama, Kennedy had his issues and detractors and interestingly they centered around religion and his youth. In 1960 some were concerned about having a Catholic president; e.g., how would he relate to the Pope? Although hard to imagine now, it did initially cost Kennedy some support and contributed to a very close election; Kennedy won nationwide by only 112,000 votes (0.1%). Obama’s issues with his blunt Chicago pastor have not injured him among Democrats but are expected to impact the general election if he is nominated.