February 06, 2005

CAN I GET A LIFELINE, TIM?:

Transcript for Feb. 6
Guests: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. (Meet the Press, Feb. 6, 2005)

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to Social Security. The president said that we have an impending crisis with Social Security and you said he was wrong. We went up on your Web site, which was interesting reading, and found the things that you have labeled crises.

SEN. KENNEDY: Ah.

MR. RUSSERT: This is pretty revealing.

"Iraq,

national literacy,

medical research,

refugee program,

mental illness,

steel,

nursing,

higher education,

youth violence,

fish industry,

AIDS,

flu vaccine supply,

hunger,

teacher recruitment,

unemployment,

Medicare,

health care,

North Korea,

Section 8 vouchers,

gas prices,

gun violence";

you said they were all crises.

We have a situation where the number on people in Social Security is going to double. People, rather than spending 15 months, are going to spend 15 years. In 2018, the Social Security Trust Fund will begin to draw down, and in 2042 run a deficit, according to the trustees of the fund. What is your plan? What will you do? If the president's wrong, what would you do specifically to fix Social Security?

SEN. KENNEDY: Well, first of all, all the facts that you mention are correct, and we have a problem beyond the 2049, a problem.


Glug, glug, glug....

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 6, 2005 10:30 PM
Comments

With apologies to Spalding Gray, the documentary of Teddy's life and times just has to be called "Swimming to Edgartown".

Posted by: jim hamlen at February 6, 2005 11:14 PM

Shooting fish in a barrel is never pretty.

Posted by: Gideon at February 6, 2005 11:50 PM

Teddy's all wet.

Posted by: Matt Murphy at February 7, 2005 12:05 AM

Hard to think on the run at 8 o'clock in the morning when you haven't even had your first Bloody Mary of the day...

Posted by: John at February 7, 2005 03:50 AM

Ted Kennedy's inarticulateness in answering questions of the press is matched by only one other major politician. (one who also has had a history of drinking in excess)

Posted by: h-man at February 7, 2005 05:02 AM

Couldn't someone just once say to Teddy on national TV,'Should we come up with a plan to save Social Security before it becomes a crisis or do we just drive off that bridge when we come to it?'

Posted by: Bart at February 7, 2005 06:43 AM

I don't understand why Russert was being so mean to EMK? A sudden fit of journalistic integrity? It cannot be the case that the same Central Committe that is electing Howard Dean as its Chairman is about to shed EMK as its spokesman. What gives?

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at February 7, 2005 10:54 AM

I suspect that Russert's affection for Senator Moynahan has something to do with it.

Posted by: David Cohen at February 7, 2005 11:24 AM

I am sooo sorry I didn't see the Ted-Monster sweating this one.

Why on earth do these guys go on Russert's show? Even Bill O'Reily is a cream-puff compared to Russert when Russert really wants to bloody your nose.

Posted by: AML at February 7, 2005 04:19 PM

AML:

Earlier Rumsfeld had dope slapped him when he tried running a spliced film clip instead of a full quote.

Posted by: oj at February 7, 2005 04:34 PM

AML

Ted Kennedy really needs to be careful about which newsman interviews him. I'll never forget the devastating grilling he got from Roger Mudd, when Mudd had the audacity to ask

"why do you want to be President?"

ahhhl weeelll now I ahh...

Posted by: h-man at February 7, 2005 05:13 PM
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