Demagogue

In an appearance in Missouri yesterday, President Bush touted the new Medicare drug benefit program and how easy it is to sign up for it. In doing so, he introduced Bob Vanderfeltz, who was ostensibly going to lend the ordinary citizen's tacit, if not explicit, endorsement. The Washington Post's Al Kamen explains what happened next:

[Vanderfeltz] explained how he signed up for the drug benefit. "I was lucky I knew someone there," at the local Social Security office, ". . . and in less than 10 minutes, they had me signed up on a program."

Now there's a testimonial for Bush -- signing up for your drug benefit is simple if you're "lucky" and know the right people. Kamen's column didn't mention another verbal tidbit from Vanderfeltz:

"I attempted to call the (Medicare) 1-800 number in the middle of the day and I found out that sometimes automated machines work better at nighttime when they aren't so busy."

That soundbite probably didn't come from the administration's list of talking points.