Silence on Meet the Press
December 21, 1999
In their debate on Sunday's Meet the Press, Al Gore and Bill Bradley
vowed to show leadership on Social Security reform. But the Democratic presidential
contenders shared, in the Associated Press's words, "a determination to dodge
politically difficult questions about Social Security's future."
Both Bradley and Gore vowed not to increase the retirement age for Social Security
eligibility, but refused to address any steps they might take to address the
program's looming insolvency other than dedicating the budget surplus to the
program.
Meet the Press host Tim Russert pressed the candidates on what they would do
if projected surpluses did not materialize. "Reality check," Russert said. "Suddenly
there are no surpluses. The economy goes into a downturn. Then what happens
to Social Security and Medicare?"
Neither candidate would be drawn on the issue. "I'm not going to get into going
down the whole list of possibilities," Bradley declared, though neither he nor
Gore would elaborate on their silence.
Social Security is a real problem. It demands real solutions. Silence, which
is what Bradley and Gore offered on Meet the Press, is not one of them.
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