HOW HE SEES IT Social Security reform: It's about Bush

By WILLIAM McKENZIE
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Why's he doing this?
That's the question surrounding President Bush's attempt to overhaul Social Security. Sam Donaldson recently raised it on ABC's "This Week." Even House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a fellow Republican, has suggested that the president slow down.
So, why is George W. Bush doing this?
I could cite a bunch of numbers about Social Security running out of cash to pay full benefits. But the real answer is that big and bold is in his nature. He likes taking on big things.
You may like that trait, or you may not. But that's who Bush is. He will take a risk, if he believes it will solve a problem. Before he even ran for president, Bush talked on and on about how he didn't want to just sit around Washington. He wanted to make a difference. He prefers action.
That's why he's doing this. It isn't about helping rich Wall Streeters sell private Social Security accounts. It's about doing something, even if others prefer to back away.
Bush exhibited this streak in Austin when he pressed legislators to overhaul Texas' tax code in 1997. Ann Richards had mostly ducked the issue as governor, and other Republicans thought Bush was loony to try it. But off he went into the thickest of state battles: messing with taxes as a way to fix school funding.
He acted similarly during his first term as president. Over numerous objections, Bush pressed massive tax cuts in the first six months of 2001.
Big and bold, of course, doesn't always get a man where he wants to go. Bush probably should remember a thing or two from his earlier big moves. The dustups from his scrapes over the Texas tax battle and Washington's tax cuts could help him this time around.
First, the Texas tax battle. What killed his gamble back in 1997 was ... Republicans.
He couldn't get enough of them to back his package.
The bill he favored had passed the Texas House with strong Democratic support. When it got to the Senate, Bush couldn't persuade enough members of his party to go along with him. They worried that the tax changes would harm their constituents. They wouldn't drink the Kool-Aid, one later said.
Bold adventure
Bush should recall that history as he works to bring along his party on his latest bold adventure. Some Republicans are grumbling that his push to create personal Social Security accounts could add $2 trillion to the deficit.
Several House conservatives want to know how he'll pay off that huge tab. So do GOP senators like Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Olympia Snowe of Maine. They've pressed Bush to answer the deficit question.
And they're right. The cost of overhauling Social Security is a big question, economically and politically.
In 2001, Bush irritated some conservative Democrats when he pushed his $1.5 trillion tax cut without explaining how he would keep us from sliding into another deficit. The nation had a surplus, and conservative Democrats like former Texas Rep. Charlie Stenholm worried about losing it. In pressing for his tax package, Bush lost some natural allies by not answering their concerns. In fact, he lost control of the Senate after the vote.
Bush doesn't want to make the same mistake this time. He may not need Democrats to pass his plan, but he does need some Democrats to make his Social Security changes last. Otherwise, Democrats could throw them out when they next control the White House or Congress. That's harder to do if some Democrats vote for the Bush plan.
My hunch is that the president can pick up a few conservative Democrats -- if he shows them how he'll pay for all this without worsening the deficit. The Economist recently proposed that those who want private accounts should pay a bit more in Social Security contributions. That's one way to help offset the cost.
If the president has other ideas, now is the time to start presenting them. As he embarks on another big, bold adventure, recalling past missteps could keep him from veering off course.
X William McKenzie is an editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.