Demagogue

This is so very Onion-worthy, only it's real.

Bush Adds DeLay to Social Security Tour

GALVESTON, Texas - President Bush on Tuesday added a helper to his Social Security road tour: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is facing allegations of ethical improprieties but is seen by the White House as crucial to pushing Bush's plans through Congress.

Bush was traveling here to discuss his proposal to add private investment accounts to Social Security and included DeLay in the event being held near his district to show that "the president appreciates his leadership in the House," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. DeLay was also scheduled to fly back to Washington with Bush on Air Force One along with a few other Republican members of Congress from Texas.

As Bush nears the end of a 60-day nationwide blitz aimed at building support for his proposal, the Senate Finance Committee back in Washington was holding a hearing on Social Security. But a new poll showed that despite all of Bush's efforts, there has been a decline in public support for his private-accounts idea — and that his overall job approval rating is at a level that matches his all-time low.
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But a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Tuesday found that only 45 percent of those surveyed favored diverting a portion of Social Security taxes into accounts invested in the stock market, compared with 56 percent who had supported it in a March poll. Also, 64 percent of those surveyed disapproved of the job Bush was doing on Social Security. His overall approval rating fell to 47 percent.

So the more Bush talks about GOP-sponsored Social Security reform, the less popular it becomes-- so naturally he has extended his 60-day tour-- and to help boost his sagging efforts he's added DeLay to his booster club?!?

Either Bush & Co. are wholly certain that they're going to get DeLay off or they've completely lost their ability to play the game. Apparently through GOP-tinted glasses the blood in the water is tangerine dreams.

If there was a way to convert pure chutzpah into cash money, they'd be the richest political party in the country. Oh, hey, maybe that *is* what they've figured out. It sure would explain a lot.

Either that or someone has been slipping LSD into Karl Rove's cheerios.