In 2004-5 George Bush tried to end run social security with personal accounts, and he got ... nowhere. I'm not too worried. Social Security has enuf. support among the American people to keep the extremists at bay.

But, still, good to keep a watchful eye out.

Your blog today is a clear example of our country's greatest threat:a huge drop in the "gold" standard that permeates every element of our culture. We have become a nation of mediocrity almost totally accepting the message of the '60s which is "anything goes". It can be seen everywhere, making us a second class country, & it's very discouraging. Dee

As an insurance agent dealing with seniors, most of the people I meet are living on their Social Security and have very little,if any, retirement savings. If not for Social Security, they would be on the street. I can also say that many of the people I meet lean towards the Tea Party view of government. And I wonder if they will, as so many people do, vote against their own economic interests in the next election.

I agree that 2012 will be a fight between too very different philosophies of what our country is and should be. It will be quite a message war, and it kind of scares me that Republicans are usually better at the bumper sticker messages.

I feel the same concerns

In 1968 my Dad was in the hospital for two weeks with a serious condition.

Thankfully, he was cured and when it was time to take him home from the hospital my Mom asked my husband and me to get him.

She gave me her checkbook and thinking that she didn't have enough in there to pay the bill, she also gave me her Savings Acct. passbook with a balance of about $1,000 in it. She thought I would need both to pay the bill.

When I went to the hospital office and asked how much the bill was the clerk told me $5.00! She told me he was on Medicare and the bill would be paid by them.We couldn't believe it. Although I had helped him sign up for it ,I really didn't understand it.

The $5.00 charge was because they had to send to another hospital for a pint of blood for him and they sent it by taxicab and that was the fare.

When I told my Dad about it he just smiled and said," Now you know why I've been a Democrat all my life."

If it were not for my father's 100% VA disability (from Vietnam) my mother, who was a stay at home mom in the 50's and 60's, then had very menial jobs after that, would be homeless. The amount of social security she gets every month doesn't even cover a quarter of her monthly expenses, and her home is paid for. I am grateful however, that in Texas, after a person turns 65 they get a break on property taxes.

Snow White and the seven dwarves are making Barack look better and better.

Great post. I'm linking to it.

I can remember the very moment, many years ago, when I, this then innocent, ignorant, non-[political, non-activist (except for civil rights) young wife and mother had an epiphany. I had been listening to candidates and thought "Is this the best we have to offer?" "Are these the finest minds we can come up with?" The epiphany was that yes, there were people who had all the answers, but they were never going to be allowed to be in a position to be fix our problems. Forty-five years later, I still believe that.

I am concerned that we are going to "Carterize" Obama--analyze his methods and decide he is too weak to lead. I am hearing some in the press already doing that; and progressives are wringing their hands over his presumed weaknesses.

Obama may not be perfect--but he did get health care reform, as limited as that is; and he did get DADT repealed; and he got legislation that prevented our economy from completely tanking. No small accomplishments. If we desert him because these measures are not as far reaching as we want them to be, we will be left with the likes of Bachman whose limitations are enormous and Perry who is one mean dude.

Let us continue to pressure our representatives in Congress and the president who says he is listening. We must make our views known and demand that the press hear our concerns. In short, stop agonizing and organize.

Interesting links re SS which I'll read when more time.

I spent some years in the heart of Republican country. I recall any number of that ardent group castigating SS while they were busy collecting those funds as was even one receiving well-deserved disability. In every case had they not had that income they would have been in dire straits and their families were not well-situated to pick up the slack. This was back when the Republican Party actually tried to practice some of the sensible moderate values they once said they stood for -- they even worked with Congressional Democrats to solve the nation's problems.

I realized that logic, reason, common sense and reality was not grasped by some of those knowledgeable educated people when they continued to support the very political figures dedicated to removing their basic financial security.

I don't assume for one minute that the coming election year race will be easy no matter how warped the thinking is of the candidate selected to oppose our current President.