Social Security Nuclear Option…Barbara Bush?

Give him credit! With his Social Security privatization plan sinking faster than a turncoat with cement shoes in the East River(can’t you tell I’m from New York), the President floats out his 79 year old mother to the rescue. A brilliant, yet all too common tactic for sons. When the public deserts you and Congress wishes you never brought the whole Social Security issue up, who better to pump up support than a woman who lives month to month on her Social Security check! Yes, she will say she is doing this for her many grandchildren. Balderdash! – they will have trust funds. This is all about a mother’s unwavering support for a son, which is actually pretty nice to see in this self-centered age.
On a more serious note, it now looks like Congress would rather deal with the Social Security solvency issue without inserting “private accounts” into the equation. One long time friend of Social Security Disability recipients has been Republican Clay Shaw of Florida. As he recently stated in a fine article by David Broder of the Washington Post, “private accounts” will have to be “add ons”, not a partial replacement of the current Social Security benefit, to get bipartisan support. Shaw is one of the few Social Security experts in Congress. The President (and his mother) would be wise to listen the experts in his own party.