Republican Senators Waffling on Social Security Privatization

Posted on March 1, 2005

USA Today reports some bad news for President Bush: the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll conducted Friday-Sunday found that a paltry 35% of Americans approve of Bush's Social Security record, 56% disapprove and 9% have no opinion. After a week of hearing angry seniors gripe at them during town hall meetings, many Republican Senators have returned to Washington less than thrilled with the whole privatization thing.

Senator Frist (who has apparently learned a thing or two about how to handle the unruly Senate) threw the whole issue squarely back in Bush's lap. "The president will have to stay out there and lead on it, when a lot of political figures want to run and hide and when you have a lot of people who say there's no problem."

At least he recognizes that many people (read: economists and the majority of Americans) heard the president loud and clear when he admitted that private accounts will not improve the financial situation of social security. Frist may have thrown the hot potato back to Bush, but the president has a problem: the more he talks, the more people are opposed to his plan. Or, as Senator Chuck Schumer quipped; "In two months, the president has created a firestorm against [his own plan]." The Gallup Poll had some more bad news for Bush: his favorable rating is at 56%, but the AARP's favorable rating is at 75%.