It made for great theater. In his acceptance speech at the Republican convention, President Bush set a markedly different tone than the red-meat rhetoric previously on display from other speakers. Unlike Zell Miller and others, he did not all but accuse the Democratic Party of treason en masse for daring to take democracy seriously and run a candidate in this year's election.
No, the Bush on display was a return to the "compassionate conservative" language of the candidate of old, before the 2000 election was safely in the bag and all that nonsense could go into the trash can. He attempted to make us forget the swaggering, the boasting, the bullying, and reassure us that he really did care.
"I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor America's seniors," Bush said to loud applause, "so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen Medicare. Now seniors are getting immediate help buying medicine. Soon every senior will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and nothing will hold us back."
Of course, he did not mention that the bill which he so enthusiastically signed into law actually barred Medicare from negotiating volume discounts from pharmaceutical companies as can the VA health system, Medicaid, large insurance plans, and other customers. Nor did he mention that in anticipation of having to give senior consumers discounts on their medications, a number of pharmaceutical firms actually jacked up the prices on their products, ensuring that their profit margins would remain sacrosanct.
Putting such pesky facts aside, the speech did sound good. But the day after so proudly touting this wonderful acheivement, the Bush Administration announced a 17 percent increase in Medicare premiums, from $66.60 a month to $78.20. The very next day. And right before a three-day weekend. Even given the White House's propensity for burying bad news on a Friday or a weekend when nobody will pay attention, that really takes large brass ones.
To put this in perspective, Social Security benefits, upon which many seniors depend to make their premium payments, are increasing by only 3 percent this year.
The Republicans apparently think they can pull a fast one over on Americans by splashily spouting feel-good oratory one day and then quietly delivering the bad news the next day. Will Americans let them get away with it?
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