I think your characterization is wrong. It seems that you Bush canned the project. According to the asked the National Academy of Sciences whether the mission was "strong and scientifically vital." What information do you have that they didn't?
I was there. It was a political sales job from day one, with people searching high and low for scientific justification for Gore's folly. I don't mean to disproportionately abuse Gore - he was just the main character in this plot and did a lot to make it easy political pickings. Republicans were obviously very keen on killing it once they caught wind of it.
I do recall they eventually found some instruments to put on the thing, but it was bass-ackwards. You don't launch a satellite into a very specific orbit that allows for a pretty picture, and then go looking for science to justify it. You come up with the science, and try to sell your way into the proper orbit.
The bottom line is that a presidential hopeful said "I want this stupid thing", and NASA said, "How high, sir?" Then, after much handwaving and scrounging of scientific merit, the victorious politicians (Bush, et al) said, "never mind - scrap it."
