USA Today has a poll showing 55% of Americans oppose Bush's Social Security plan (40% favor it). But that's not likely the bad news for GW & Co. Instead, it's:

1) 68% of those surveyed deemed it a “good idea” to limit retirement benefits for the wealthy and to subject all wages to payroll taxes.

2) In early January, 18% of those polled felt SS was a crisis. More currently, and after Bush's SOTU address, just 17% do -- a lower number.

So, the public is not "cooperating" like they have in the past. They're not blindly adopting "the message," suggesting that Karl Rove's mastery at framing an issue in a highly deceptive manner has finally hit a potential speed bump.

It's one thing for the public to be against GW's plan (that can be "corrected," as it was said in "The Shining"). However, it's quite another for them to demand that the rich pay (dearly?). Never before have they demanded such justice, such sacrifice -- what's gotten into them? Uh oh, Rove may have a problem on his hands, but something tells me he'll eventually come up with the right combination of Madison Ave.-type deception and just good old fashioned sleaze to bilk the public once more.