Up is down and left is right in the Bush Administration. Even when George Bush isn't using outright doublespeak, what he says makes absolutely no sense at all. Two of his ever-lasting cheerleaders, Fred Barnes and William "The Bloody" Kristol went to interview him and extolled his greatness, even if the examples of it were disastrous failures.
From ThinkProgress:
Billions upon billions, even trillions of dollars could have been lost had Bush won that legislative battle. Highlighting that episode is even stranger because it marked a turning point in his Presidency. It was only a few short months after being re-elected and his popularity plunged when he tried to privatize the third rail of American politics. His response to Hurricane Katrina did him in, but this was what started his long decline.Speaking of Bush’s legacy, Barnes reports that the president cited his push to privatize Social Security as his biggest domestic policy accomplishment:
On domestic policy, Bush was asked if he made progress in some areas for which he hasn’t and probably won’t get credit. Topping his list was his unsuccessful drive in 2005 to reform Social Security. Bush said his effort showed it’s politically safe to campaign on changing Social Security and then actually seek to change it.
He also said it was important to have raised private investment accounts as an attractive option in reforming Social Security.
It seems odd that Bush cited an unsuccessful effort as his biggest domestic policy achievement, but understandable given that he doesn’t have much else to consider. But not only was Bush’s drive to privatize Social Security an utter failure, the concept is also widely unpopular with the American public and if enacted, it would have had disastrous consequences for Americans’ retirement funds.
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