From interview to be broadcast on Good Morning America on Saturday:
"Snow: When you were President you talked about Social Security. In fact, you had a Social Security drive at one point to try to reform it. The President now is laying out some new ideas about how to keep it solvent and the Democrats have mostly been saying no, no, no. Do the Democrats need to move, do they need to compromise and negotiate with this president on Social Security?
Clinton: Well, I think they need to come up with a plan of their own. But I don't think it's fair to criticize them for not having done it now. I mean, when I was President it was my job to come up with plans, and if you are in the congressional majority it's your job. We are in the minority in both houses and we needed to wait until they made their proposal and come back. We didn't have a proposal until a couple days ago.
Snow: But they shouldn't just let it lie.
Clinton: No I think we shouldn't let it lie . . . I think the Democrats should say what they are for on Social Security in the next couple weeks; they got time to put together a program. I think it should include an opportunity for people to participate in savings and ownership uh, they don't have to do private accounts because they can't figure out how to borrow the money. . . . but I think that the Democrats should have a plan and they should talk to the President and the congressional Republicans about it."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238
How long will this party be bedeviled with this self-centered POS. It's bad enough he cost the party control of Congress, in large part, because of his abandonment of the party's blue collar base (see NAFTA). It's bad enough he cost them their best shot at retaking the House in 1996 because of his insatiable lust for fundraising and money. And it's bad enough he cost the party the presidency in 2000 because he listened to Dick Morris and lied to the American people. But now he plays right into the Republicans' hands by calling on Democrats to come forward with a plan without the Republicans taking privatization off the table. And his only complaint about private accounts is that "they can't figure out how to borrow the money." Not that private accounts would lead to the phase-out of social security.
Maybe Clinton thought he was talking to his buddies in the DLC, but I think the time has come for Democrats to disown this guy. While he may speak for the DLC, he doesn't speak for the base. Why doesn't he just shut the hell up and collect his speaking fees instead of shooting his mouth off, and stabbing us in the back.