George Bush starts many of his Social Security roundtable conversations with the same awkward moment. He asks an economist to explain why the retirement system is in crisis and then interrupts him. "It's an interesting lesson here, by the way," said the President last Thursday of the Ph.D. sitting with him on stage. "He's an advisor. Now, he is the Ph.D., and I am a C-student—or was a C-student. Now, what's that tell you?"
No one is quite sure what it tells them. The expert is puzzled. The five regular Americans sitting with the President keep their curtain-rod posture and laminated smiles. Is the President insulting the professor? What is the message? Book learning just makes you an adviser, but sleep through a few tests and you too can be President?
George Bush gets a thrill from admitting that he was C-student. It may seems like an odd point to make in the middle of a battle for Social Security—especially when your plan is struggling. But that’s precisely why Bush does it. "For you C students out there, don't give up," he says.
It's a new twist on Bush's favorite message. He delights in defying expectations, and he can't resist tweaking the ears of all those who looked at his college transcript and voted him most likely to hawk siding. He also can't resist, because he's in the middle of prospecting for a bigger comeuppance: he'll show all those naysayer who claim his plan for Social Security is dead. " Someone said, 'It's a steep hill to climb, Mr. President,'" he told the audience at the University of Notre Dame a week ago. "Well, my attitude is, the steeper, the better—because when you get up top, you realize you have left a significant contribution behind."
Yeah, and my parents' dogs frequently climb steep hills and leave behind "significant contributions" for the pooper-scoopers.
