Misunderstanding

Apparently, we won't be hearing Bush use the phrase 'add-on' to describe his version of Social Security Destruction again anytime soon. The White House admits Bush was full of shit.

But one wonders...were it not for the intrepid Mike Wallace of FOX, perhaps Bush's advisors would not have made the President stop using this deceitful rhetoric.

WALLACE:
"Mr. Bartlett, that's not right. The president's plan is not an add-on, is it?

"BARTLETT: Absolutely. Absolutely.

"WALLACE: It's an add-on?

"BARTLETT: Absolutely. See, this . . .

"WALLACE: Well, wait a minute. Wouldn't it take revenue out of Social Security?

"BARTLETT: Well, an add-on in the respect that there is disinformation being spread across the country that there will be no government benefit provided to future retirees. That is absolutely false. Every person who would select and voluntarily take a personal retirement account would be able to still receive benefits from the government.

"Added on to that benefit would be the returns from a personal retirement account. So in that essence, it is an add-on.

"WALLACE: But forgive me, most people up on Capitol Hill, when they talk about add-ons, are talking about you're going to have your regular, full, unchanged Social Security, and then we're going to add on the idea of personal accounts.

"The plan the president's talking about, you would be taking revenues out of Social Security and if you invested in the accounts, you would lose some of your guaranteed benefits under Social Security.

"BARTLETT: Well, you're not taking revenues out of Social Security. You're giving those revenues directly to the recipients, allowing it to grow in an account, which is a critical part of making sure that individuals are able to realize. . . .

"WALLACE: But they would be putting it in private accounts, not into the . . .

"BARTLETT: They would be putting it in personal accounts . . .

"WALLACE: Right.