Scott McClellan, today:

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, he indicated — he indicated, I think in his press conference, that he would be offering more specific proposals as time goes by.

Say it Scott, say it:

Q — it’s a crisis, then why not tell us the specifics as soon as possible?

MR. McCLELLAN: For the reasons we’ve stated repeatedly, that first we need to have a common understanding of the problem.

Wasn’t that understanding pretty common in 2001 according to the President?

Every one in this chamber knows that Social Security is not prepared to fully fund their retirement. And we only have a couple of years [!] to get prepared. Without reform, this country will one day awaken to a stark choice: either a drastic rise in payroll taxes or a radical cut in retirement benefits.

President Bush, February 2001:

My budget will fund our priorities, from education to defense to protecting Social Security and Medicare. It will pay down our national debt. And when we have done all that, we will still have some money left over. I strongly believe we should return that money, the leftover money, to you, the American people, in the form of tax relief. It is, after all, your money.

Same month:

That is the surplus the federal government expects to collect over the next 10 years; money left over after we have met our obligations to Social Security, Medicare, health care, education, defense and other priorities.

This reads like the boy who is sent to the store to buy milk but comes back with a 40-ounce bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

State of the Union address, 2001:

To make sure the retirement savings of America’s seniors are not diverted in any other program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social Security, and for Social Security alone.

Someone better tell Gollum Luskin.