believing it wholesale

The mainstream press is so pathetic sometimes. They don't even bother to read the crap the GOP gives them, or even a critcal eye. There is an article today in the Knight-Ridder news service, which means hundreds of local papers (which are read a lot more than LAT NYT WP WSJ etc.) have picked this up off their wires and placed it somewhere in the A section.

Here's the telling graph:

A poll released Wednesday found that those ages 18-29 — the only age group that solidly supports Bush's idea of using their tax money to fund private retirement accounts — is also the only group whose support for the idea has increased in recent months, although by a statistically insignificant margin.

A statistically insigificant margin is all Bush can hang his hat on these days, yet the article goes to great length about how the GOP sees this as a way of ensuring a majority politically for decades to come through their "support" among young people, who by the way voted overwhelmingly for Kerry if they showed up at all last November. Why would people my age support such an initiative? Because we have been told over and over again that it won't be around when we turn 65, so why would we care what Bush does with it? We might just come out ahead, the thinking goes, something is better than nothing.

But I bet if you asked young people who voted for Bush why they did so, they might talk about terrorism, about taxes, about moral values and character, but never would the words "Social Security" pass their lips. Sure, it sounds like a good idea to them and other young people, but it is not something that will ensure GOP dominance for decades to come.

I think Bush needs to look himself in the mirror and admit that 1) there was no mandate and 2) his social security privatization plan won't even come up for a vote this year or next year.