Help me out here

Okay, let me see if I understand this Social Security business correctly. Shrub says the system is headed for "bankruptcy" because "Congresses have made promises it cannot keep for a younger generation." So

Bush called Thursday night for cutting Social Security benefits for future retirees to put the system on sound financial footing....

The reductions would be on top of the cuts in the guaranteed benefit portion of the program that would be imposed on workers who opted to participate in Mr. Bush's proposed investment accounts....

So, okay. Social Security is in trouble because it won't be able to "keep its promises" of future benefits. And the way we're going to avoid that painful necessity of cutting benefits is to - cut benefits.

How am I doing?

Or, I suppose it might better be asked, how is he doing? Since

a steady stream of polls has shown support for his solution to be dissipating and approval ratings for his general handling of the issue falling

and

the Republican chairman of the finance committee, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, is struggling to write a bill that can command enough Republican support to pass the panel, much less win bipartisan support.

And to top off the indignity, not only did he have to reschedule the performance to satisfy the TV networks, three of the four networks cut off the end of his news conference to show regular programming. The mantle of invincibility is clearly slipping.

Footnote: If you want to know what I think about the Social Security "crisis," you can look at these:

February 26, 2004
March 28, 2004
December 16, 2004
December 20, 2004
January 01, 2005
January 19, 2005
February 01, 2005
February 03, 2005
February 03, 2005
February 05, 2005
February 08, 2005
February 10, 2005
March 03, 2005
March 06, 2005
March 12, 2005
March 24, 2005
March 31, 2005