Wear the red tie, George.
Writing by treason on Friday, 29 of April , 2005 at 10:56 pm
During the presidential debates last year, I think it was Dick Morris who pointed out that a red tie on camera was much more flattering than any other color. Why then, I asked myself, does George Bush always reach for blue? Could it be because of the 1980s? The Reagans had red tied up - Nancy was often seen wearing “Reagan red.” For contrast, Barbara Bush generally wore blue. “Bush blue.” Actually, I’d like to think that when the president reaches for a tie, it isn’t calculated. I truly believe that he goes for the blue tie because he just likes that blue tie. So I was a little surprised when I watched the press conference and saw red. (I’m sure many other Americans saw red, too, but it had nothing to do with the tie.) But it made sense. That suit called for a red tie.
I like watching Dubya during these press conferences. His confidence is appealing. I like that he’s addressed the problem of Social Security. I appreciate that he can get fired up about a topic and become much more articulate when he’s talking about an issue that he feels strongly about. He went off on education and he was riveting. I like that he’s addressed the problem of public education. (One day I’ll address this myself, and explain why I have an unused teaching credential somewhere in a drawer.) I like that he’s addressed the need for an energy plan. I like that he supports John Bolton. I like that he says he’ll share credit, echoing Ronald Reagan’s famous quote: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
I like the idea of personal savings accounts. But what I’m not too sure about is this idea that Social Security needs to be “fair.” Fair means that the poor deserve more than the rich. Never mind that the rich have been paying into the system just as long as the poor, but now when it comes time to collect on their payments, they don’t get them? This smells like redistribution of wealth. Welfare, even. I won’t even go into the discussion of those who pay into the system all their lives, then die before they can collect a dime. Is it fair that many African-American males croak before retirement and white women live on to collect payment after payment? The system stinks. Kill it. Replace it with a system that actually works. Treason number thirteen: Get off the stick and start dealing with Social Security now to create a program that’s actually effective. Chances are reform won’t happen during the Bush administration, but at least the president deserves credit for trying. Years from now when Social Security implodes, I hope someone remembers that it was a Republican who tried to fix it in 2005.
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