The Obama Administration should direct NASA to implement the Mars Direct program, developed by Robert Zubrin & David Baker. Detailed information can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Direct
or in the documentary 'The Mars Undergound' here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDWvsdEYSqg
The Apollo missions invigorated the American economy, boosted our technological advances, & most importantly inspired a generation of scientists & engineers.
Mars Direct would do the same for a new generation & could be done within the current NASA budget & completed within 10 years.
Most importantly, sending humans to & colonizing Mars would forever transform humans into an interplanetary species & would ensure the survival of the human race even if a global catastrophe befell the Earth.