SMOKE, MIRRORS

Another instance of how Bush can't exist without B.S. is his latest series of tightly scripted forums in which participants (i.e., audience members) are handpicked for their friendly views.

This time, the Los Angeles Times, highlights a memo seeking a choir to preach to:

"You got any thoughts about Social Security?" Bush asked 22-year-old Concordia University senior Christy Paavola, one of five younger workers who appeared on stage with him at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

"Yes," Paavola said. "I don't think it's going to be there when I retire, which is really scary."

Many young people, the president commented, think they are paying into a retirement system that will never pay them back. He asked Paavola: "Got anything else you want to say?"

"I really like the idea of personal savings accounts," Paavola said.

"You did a heck of a job," Bush told her. "You deserve an A."

Fake support for a fake president. Par for the course.