Truth - Al Franken [86]
MORNIN: Yes, and I am concerned about—that the system stays the same for me.
BUSH: Right.
MORNIN: But I do want to see change and reform for my children because I realize that we will be in trouble down the road.
BUSH: It’s an interesting point, and I hear this a lot—
Yeah. He heard that point a lot—in rehearsal.
BUSH: Will the system be the same for me? And the answer is, absolutely. One of the things we have to continue to clarify to people who have retired or near retirement.
Yes. It was part of the “over and over again” strategy. Buy off the over-55s. Now done with the heavy lifting, the President and Ms. Mornin participated in some lighthearted banter that brought gales of laughter from the carefully preselected crowd.
BUSH:—you fall in the near retirement.
MORNIN: Yes, unfortunately, yes. (Laughter.)
BUSH: Well, I don’t know. I’m not going to tell your age, but you’re one year younger than me, and I’m just getting started. (Laughter.)
MORNIN: Okay, okay.
BUSH: I feel great, don’t you?
MORNIN: Yes, I do.
Only a grump like Ebenezer Scrooge or Bob Novak could fail to be charmed by such authentic, down-home ribbing. But then it was back to work. The President circled back to the crucial point:
BUSH: Thank you for asking that. You don’t have to worry.
MORNIN: That’s good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.
BUSH: You work three jobs?
MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.
I don’t have a source on this, but I’m guessing that Mary was off script. Wildly groping for a way to keep things cheery, the President put the best spin on the predicament facing a single mom who had to work three jobs to support her mentally challenged adult child.
BUSH: Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)
MORNIN: Not much. Not much.
BUSH: Well, hopefully, this will help you get your sleep to know that when we talk about Social Security, nothing changes.
There. He stuck it. Nothing could throw him off message for long, not even the harsh realities of the working poor in the economy he presided over.
But somehow, even after a string of such impressive performances, the poll numbers didn’t seem to be heading in the President’s direction. In the three weeks following the State of the Union address, Bush’s approval rating on his handling of Social Security plunged from the tepid 43 percent to a dismal 35 percent. Meanwhile, pro–Social Security forces were gaining steam. Democrats in Congress were holding firm, under the watchful supervision of the blog police, led by Commissioner Joshua Micah Marshall of TalkingPointsMemo.com, who mercilessly pummeled any Democrat who threatened to stray off the reservation. Also, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were cracking the whip with ruthless synchronicity. The AARP, MoveOn.org, the AFL-CIO—every major progressive group was mobilizing its members, running ads, rocking the vote, doing whatever it could.
Then there was the X-factor. A new power center in the progressive movement was making its presence felt in cars, offices, and construction sites across the land. Air America Radio, led by its award-winning flagship program, The Al Franken Show, was broadcasting the unalloyed truth about Bush’s campaign of deception, and it was doing so with unmatched wit, including daily segments in which host Al Franken would say “Oy” with a comically exaggerated Jewish accent.
There was only one thing for the President to do. More road trips. On March 2, the Bush administration launched an unprecedented sixty-stop cross-country tour. It was a bold move, especially during a time of war, when one might think the commander in chief would want to stay close to his military advisers. Bush barnstormed the nation, traveling everywhere from Noblesville, Indiana, to Kalispell, Montana; from Muskegon, Michigan, to Smyrna, Georgia; from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Yuba City, California. Wherever two hundred shills could be gathered, he pitched his deeply dishonest and horribly