Depressing

On the Netscape home page now, the top news story is the SOTU, with the following head and subhead:

Bush: Make Social Security 'Permanently Sound'
Bush challenged Congress to save the costly social program from bankruptcy.

Oh, God, where to begin?

Bush "challenged" Congress. Gosh, what a leader.

He challenged them to "save" SS "from bankruptcy." The "bankruptcy" isn't in quotes, though, so a casual reader will be left with the impression that bankruptcy is indeed what's in store for SS and that it needs saving and that Bush is the only one with balls enough to "challenge" Congress to do something about it.

Oh, and SS is a "costly social program." Just in case you weren't aware of that.

Another egregious statement tonight, from I believe Cokie Roberts -- I saw so many depressing, depressing yammering heads tonight that I've forgotten which one said what nightmarish horror. But I think it was Cokie that said, "He's asking to have a conversation about reform."

He's "asking to have a conversation." Because this conversation has never been had before, apparently, not in the past several decades. Seriously, what he's doing is asking somebody else to do the heavy lifting for him. He's begging Democrats to bail him out and propose some sweeteners that will help this shit sandwich go down. Any Democrat that does that will, hopefully, be politically doomed.

A quick spin around the Web to check the tone of the headlines reveals:

• CNN.com: "Bush: Advance the ideal of liberty: President Bush used his State of the Union speech to press home key domestic and international agendas. At home he promised to reform Social Security for future generations. Looking overseas, Bush vowed to spread freedoms around the world while continuing the war on terror, and he pointed to Iraq as a symbol of change."
  
• MSNBC.com: "Once and for all: Bush says nation must fix Social Security."
  
• ABCNews.com: "Bush Urges Congress to Save Soc. Security: President Bush challenged a hesitant Congress on Wednesday to 'strengthen and save' Social Security, saying the nation's costliest social program was headed for bankruptcy unless changed." At least ABC says the "bankruptcy" thing is a quote. But again with the "costliness" of Social Security, and again with the "challenging."
  
• CBSNews.com: "Bush Pitches Social Security Fix: President Bush warned in his State of the Union address that Social Security was headed for bankruptcy unless Congress enacted a permanent fix."
  
• FoxNews.com: "A Great Venture: President Bush lays out plan for Social Security reform, hails Iraqi democracy, puts Iran and Syria on notice."
  
• NYTimes.com: "Bush Says an Overhaul of Social Security Is Essential in Order to Avoid Bankruptcy." That's the banner headline. The main story head and sub-head are: "In Speech, Bush Sketches a Bold Domestic and Foreign Agenda: President Bush laid out details of how he would create individual investment accounts and assure the health of Social Security." The subhead seems to take it for granted that "individual" accounts will assure SS's health. The headline calls his foreign and domestic proposals "bold." Maybe privatizing social security is bold, but I don't recall hearing any particularly bold foreign policies tonight.
  
• washingtonpost.com: "President Makes Case for Social Security Plan: Plan would allow workers under 55 to create private retirement accounts, changes Bush says are needed to protect program that is in danger of bankruptcy."
  
• WSJ.com: Bare bones: "BUSH SHARED the first broad details of his Social Security overhaul, which would divert up to one-third of the system's payroll-tax revenue to individual accounts beginning in 2009."
  
• Yahoo: "Bush Urges Congress to Save Social Security." Again with the "saving."
  
• Google News: "Bush says Social Security revamp may involve cuts: President George W. Bush proposed the biggest overhaul of Social Security since its 1935 creation on Wednesday night in his State of the Union speech ..."