In many occasions, Bush will host one of his carefully-orchestrated, sycophant-only events and we’ll see him in a conversation so formulaic, you’d swear the whole thing was straight out of Central Casting. As it turns out, that’s absolutely right.<\/p>\n
The LA Times obtained a White House memo<\/a> highlighting the lengths the president’s staff goes to make sure Bush’s “supporting cast” meets their political needs.<\/p>\n “President Bush will be in Rochester, N.Y., for an upcoming event and has called on WIPP for help,” said the memo to New York-area members [of Women Impacting Public Policy], from one of the group’s leaders. “He would like to visit with local workers about their views on Social Security.”<\/p>\n The memo went on to solicit several types of people “who he would like to visit with” \u00e2\u20ac\u201d including a young worker who “knows that [Social Security] could run out before they retire,” a young couple with children who like “the idea of leaving something behind to the family” and a single parent who believes Bush’s proposal for individual investment accounts “would provide more retirement options and security” than the current system. <\/p>\n The people solicited appeared to represent various arguments that Bush has been making for why Social Security should be overhauled. The memo requested an immediate response, because “we will need to get names to the White House.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n How much more ridiculous can the White House’s policy get? These events are already orchestrated to exclude anyone who doesn’t adore the president, and anyone they suspect might<\/i> be skeptical is thrown out<\/a>. Advance teams not only tell participants what to say, but now the Bush gang has become casting agents, looking to fill demographic quotas. The theme was on full display Thursday as Bush took his campaign to Wisconsin, the 26th state he has visited to promote Social Security restructuring.<\/p>\n “You got any thoughts about Social Security?” Bush asked 22-year-old Concordia University senior Christy Paavola, one of five younger workers who appeared on stage with him at the Milwaukee Art Museum.<\/p>\n “Yes,” Paavola said. “I don’t think it’s going to be there when I retire, which is really scary.”<\/p>\n Many young people, the president commented, think they are paying into a retirement system that will never pay them back. He asked Paavola: “Got anything else you want to say?”<\/p>\n “I really like the idea of personal savings accounts,” Paavola said.<\/p>\n “You did a heck of a job,” Bush told her. “You deserve an A.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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