Social Security
April 29th, 2005 | by Todd W |CNN.com - Bush pushes Social Security, energy ideas - Apr 29, 2005
No, I didn’t watch the President’s press conference last night. If you can’t already tell, I’ve been a bit burned out on politics, and I just didn’t feel like sitting through an event that will have three essential elements inherent in any Bush press conference.
1). I will likely agree with most of what he says.
2). The press will continue to demonstrate their complete inability to assemble a clue.
3). The general population won’t give a crap.
These are all particularly true in the case of Social Security. CNN is trumpeting the numbers; 64% disapprove of Bush on SS, and 51% are against private accounts.
Gee, ya think? I’m not surprised with the meticulous, intricate research into the issue made famous by the general population. I’m certain they’ve approached the issue with the deliberate methodology that has become a hallmark of the American voter.
As I’ve said many times, this is a marathon, not a sprint. A smart politician would take a look at the polls and back off the issue completely. A good leader will dig in and fight it out despite the erosion. While Bush isn’t going to get everything he wants, it is a poor negotiator that extends his final goals as an opening position. I’m sure he’d be happy to get ANY form of private accounts codified, since Washington is a town of precedent. Once you have it, just about anything is conceivable.
Meanwhile, the wizened class will continued to fund AARP and their shameful TV ads, while the Left will gloat about poll numbers and be complacent in their role as the paperweight party. The Shafted Generation is slowly becoming aware of the magnitude of the Shaft, and cold fiscal reality has a way of concentrating the mind.
Reform is inevitable. Private accounts are unstoppable. The only real item of debate is who gets the credit and which president signs the bill.
Everything going on right now is pre-game.
