Solvency is job #1

It looks like President Bush is shifting gears on Social Security reform. He’s not necessarily giving up on personal accounts and the “ownership society” but it looks like he’s being realistic to the problem at hand:

President Bush rejected any "Band-Aid solutions" that do not permanently solve Social Security's future fiscal problems, switching his focus Thursday from touting personal accounts to the program's long-term solvency.

"We need to solve this issue now and forever. The longer we wait, the worse it gets to solve it," Bush said from the stage of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.

When Dubya says “the sky is blue” (i.e. Social Security is on a problematic path) what will the Democrats say in response? There’s no problem with the sky until 2042? President Bush still has the upper hand in this debate because he’s been honest about the need for reform. Personally, I’d still like to see a small optional pilot program for personal accounts. We’ll see.