It is a dangerous, current cliche to say America is in the midst of a deep crisis. For suddenly, with the success of Sputnik, our mood of righteous selfcongratulation has given way to the.mood of the crash program. And our new sense of urgency develops simply as a reaction to Russia's technological achievement. Thus it is that so many can argue that the crisis will be resolved if only the United States can close the gap in military research, if only the old nuclear supremacy can be restored.