I have assumed for months that the White House, and probably the president himself, are aware of the fact that the drive to privatize Social Security is a complete debacle. Perhaps I misjudged their capacity for self-deception.
From the Bush gang’s perspective, they hoped a post-election “mandate” and an aggressive sales pitch would put the Dems on the defensive, convince just enough of the public, and Bush would eventually win out. But they can read polls just like everyone else, and surely they know this is a fiasco, right? Apparently not.
Republicans leaders in Congress are taking the lead in crafting Social Security reform, saying President Bush was making little progress on the landmark reform proposal.
When congressional leaders met with Mr. Bush last week, they were surprised that the president didn’t know how much trouble his plan was in, said a source close to the meeting who requested anonymity.
“The more he talked about it, the worse it got,” said the source, who worked in previous Republican administrations. “This White House does not encourage negative feedback. You know that Bush’s legislative affairs office is dysfunctional because they weren’t bringing any of the warning signs back to the White House.”
When Bush speaks on the issue publicly, I expect him to deny reality and insist he’s making progress on privatizing Social Security. This president has no policy expertise, so cheerleading is expected when he holds publicly-funded private rallies with pre-screened sycophants. But when he meets with his fellow Republicans on the Hill, and there are no cameras or reporters, Bush should be willing to acknowledge reality and adapt for the future.
Except he’s not. Bush apparently isn’t even aware of the political problem he’s created for himself and his party. It’s stunning.
Even Karl Rove, who’s insight and political proficiencies are supposed to be legendary, seems to be completely confused about the reaction to Bush’s scheme.
“We’ve been probably to some degree too successful” in selling private — or personal — accounts, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove said yesterday.
There was a recent poll he had seen that found that about 40 percent of those who disapprove of Bush’s performance on this issue actually want private accounts, explained Rove, who stopped by The Washington Post yesterday for lunch. (This is not to say the White House ever, ever looks at polls, though Rove cited several more in the next few minutes.)
“I think their attitude,” he said, “is: ‘I disapprove of the president’s performance on Social Security because he hasn’t gotten it done. Hasn’t he been talking about this for six months and shouldn’t he have gotten it done?’ “
But that’s completely wrong. Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Bush’s handling of Social Security, but they also reject privatization and benefit cuts, which are central to Bush’s plan approach. In fact, all available data shows that the public dislikes Bush’s idea more as they learn more about it. The White House hasn’t been “too successful”; it’s been too incompetent.
Do you suppose these guys are just out of touch with the real world or are they in deep, deep denial?