From Dan Froomkin's column in the Wash Post today: Very interesting...
"...careful observers of the run-up to war in Iraq will recognize some
similarities in this strategy. Back then, as the president was making an
argument for going to war, many critics said that he confused Americans by
linking Saddam Hussein to the terrorists who struck on Sept. 11, 2001. Now the Bush message is: Social Security is going bankrupt; Let's give people private accounts. Doubtless, the president is hoping the public will link those two
concepts as well. Before the speech, a senior administration official spoke at length and on background [emphasis added] about Bush's plan for private accounts. He also pretty clearly implied that the White House sees across-the-board benefit reductions in
the offing. They just don't want to talk about it. [emphasis added] Here's the transcript of that very important briefing. When push came to shove, and it did, the official was grudgingly more forthcoming than the president on some key issues. For instance: "QUESTION: "[A]m I right in assuming . . . that it would be fair
to describe this as having -- the personal accounts by themselves as having no
effect whatsoever on the solvency issue? " SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: . . . that's a fair inference. . . . " QUESTION: But is it fair to say that when everybody wakes up tomorrow morning, the president is not going to have given them an answer tonight about the $3.7 trillion shortfall, and that presumably, since he's ruled out higher taxes, that the deal that he goes along with is going to have to come up with $3.7 trillion worth of benefit cuts? " SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I'm not sure I would categorize it that way. . . . "
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