Bush: Social Security Pushes Monumental Change

Having surprised the world in his second inaugural address with a broad vision of spreading democracy worldwide, would George W. Bush fill in the details on both global and domestic issues in his State of the Union speech? He did to some extent on Social Security but not at all on Iraq.

What the members of Congress wanted to hear most from President Bush on Wednesday night was specific answers to two questions:

What are the plans for getting U.S. troops out of Iraq? As Bush had made clear previously, they will leave only when Iraq is “able to defend itself.” There will be no artificial timetable for leaving Iraq that would embolden the terrorists.

The State of the Union speech has come in recent years to be a laundry list of everything the president would do if he had the power to do everything. Bill Clinton was a particular fan of that approach, and polls have always shown that Americans like it. Last night, George W. Bush delivered a modified version, with a raft of initiatives that included some things new but a great deal that was very familiar. We were pleased to hear the call for better defense in death-penalty cases and more community health centers in poor areas, and the mention of $350 million in aid for Palestinians to promote the peace process with Israel. But we were disheartened by the renewed call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and the failure to mention development aid to Africa or virtually any other country that is not identified as a prime source of terrorism.

Bush´s first stop was North Dakota, which he won heavily in last fall´s election. Even so, early indications were not so positive this time. He´s saying we’ve got to take more money out of Social Security to start private accounts and borrow the money, ´´ said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., a target of Bush’s travels. “I just think its very unwise.´´

Other Democrats said Bush´s program could reduce guaranteed government benefits for younger Americans by 40 percent.Bush offered no information on that point Wednesday night as he outlined his plans in broad strokes. Aides said that by leaving many key details vague, he intended to give GOP congressional leaders room to piece together legislation that can command a majority.He laid down a few markers, though, saying he will not agree to increase payroll taxes and wants provisions to keep lower-income Americans above the poverty line during retirement.

We must guarantee that there is no change´´ in current or promised benefits for anyone age 55 and older, he said in a move to neutralize opposition from older Americans. In a 53-minute speech, Bush also blended the conservative with the compassionate, and gave no ground on his policy on the war in Iraq in which more than 1,400 American forces have died.