President Bush will be present for a townhall meeting in Raleigh today at the BTI Center, discussing Social Security and probably other issues. For those who get it, it is on WRAL-5 out of Raleigh. You can also got WRAL’s homepage, and supposedly see it streaming. As a side bar, you did not want to be driving around in west Raleigh today. Yowza!
From CNN, via the AP:
Bush also was visiting Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was
highlighting how Social Security could be a winning political issue.
The president was appearing with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina,
who embraced private investment accounts in her 2002 campaign.Whenever
Dole’s Democratic opponent, Erskine Bowles, criticized her proposal
during the campaign, she simply held up a blank sheet of paper to
represent his plan. He had nothing, she charged.
And today, like all the days since the 2005 SOTU, are no different from that campaign. A blank sheet of paper. Except for the standard old screw tax the rich.
Off today, so I’ll see if I can live blog some of the meeting. W is just showing up as I finish this post.
Update: W is mentioning many issues, asking Congress to work with him on health care, energy concerns, education, taxes, medicare, and other issues, more of a bullet point style. Coming to the meat of the meeting now, Social Security, "the third rail of politics."
More: "Candidates are rewarded, not punished, for taking on tough issues."
No more attempts at live blogging. When I think about what to write, I’m not listening. Maybe more at the end. The speech is more of an expansion of the SOTU. One important thing, before I sign off, is W mentioning that SS reform is for our grandchildren, not necessarily us.
How dreadfully exciting for North Carolina to have a big powerful Texas Oilman come to visit!
Is he planning on killing even more people? How dreadfully exciting! Simply dreadful!
And why is it that you’re not AT the speech in person, wearing your pirate costume?
Er, um…it’s in the cleaners!
Na, the suit was clean. It was me that was having issues. Day off an all. I thought about going, then decided I would rather avoid the traffic, and hear it on tv. Was great. Bush worked that crowd like the maestro he is.