Praising Bush from the Left

As a testament to the effectiveness of President Bush's performance Thursday night, even people on the Left have praised Bush's honesty. For example, Michael Kinsley of the LA Times had some kind words for Bush and says that Dems should give Bush his Social Security wish (though for political reasons).

Unless they are complete morons -- always a possibility -- the Democrats could end up in the best of all worlds. They know in their hearts that Social Security has got to change in some unpleasant way. Bush, for whatever reason, is willing to take this on and to take most of the heat. And all he wants in return is the opportunity to try something [optional private accounts] that will alienate people from the Republican Party for generations to come.

It is fascinating that Kinsley believes private accounts will drive people to the Democratic party. I'm not sure where he gets his information (likely the same place that Boxer, Kennedy, Pelosi, et.al get theirs), but if Dems vote for Social Security reform because they think that private accounts will alienate Republicans, that's fine by me.