Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Bush: The Man With No Plan
Jonathan Chait (posting on Talking Points Memo) notes that President Bush has no plan to "save" Social Security at all, only one of his "gut-level" impulses to replace Social Security with private accounts. Mr. Chait quotes Dan Froomkin's Washington Post on-line article:
This is why the Republicans are pressuring Democrats to present a plan - so that the Democratic bill can be "the first bill to go down."
Thanks, Atrios, for the link to Jonathan's post.
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(President Bush) expressed astonishment that people constantly refer to "Bush's plan": "I haven't laid out a plan," (Bush) said. "I've laid out some ideas that I think ought to be considered for a plan, and that's what's important for people to know."Bush's stance is straight out of Negotiating 101: the first person to present a number loses. As Bush himself reportedly said: "Some have suggested, 'Why don't you send a bill up?' Well, sure enough, the bill I send up will be 'pffft,' " (President Bush) said, apparently making the sound of a balloon deflating, "the first bill to go down."
This is why the Republicans are pressuring Democrats to present a plan - so that the Democratic bill can be "the first bill to go down."
Thanks, Atrios, for the link to Jonathan's post.
