“Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.”
President George W. Bush, Press Conference, November 4, 2004.
From Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times, Going for Broke May Break Bush:
Opinion polls show no public clamor to change the Social Security system; citizens are not yet marching on the Capitol demanding that they be allowed to invest a portion of their payroll taxes in the stock market. Nor does the program face an imminent threat that demands immediate action: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security trust fund won’t run out until 2052, after which payroll tax receipts will still cover 81 percent of the benefits promised senior citizens. Even many Republicans seem cool to the idea.
Nevertheless, Mr. Bush embarked last week on a five-state Social Security tour, determined to get traction on the first major effort of his second term.
And if the past is any guide, he is unlikely to change direction.
I’m still trying to do the math on Bush’s statement that he is owed ‘political capital.’ It’s as if he told his supporters, “I’ll let you help me get re-elected, but you’ll owe me bigtime.”