Bush: Personal Accounts Do not Solve the Issue

Nevermind that you can't "solve" an "issue." In a news conference today, President Bush stated the following regarding Social Security:

I fully understand the administration must work with the Congress to permanently solve Social Security.

And so one aspect of the debate is: Will we be willing to work together to permanently solve the issue?

Personal accounts do not solve the issue. Personal accounts will make sure that individual workers get a better deal with whatever emerges as a Social Security solution.

You heard that right: Personal accounts do not solve the issue. We're so happy that the President has finally acknowledged what Democrats, the GAO and others have been saying all along. Remember, this flip flop comes on the heels of his recent claim that private accounts would be added on to, not carved out of social security benefits—a huge reversal that most of the media failed to notice.