we ve always said and we say it in speech, this argument has to be about math. if it is about fundamentally changing a program or a health care system, you re going to lose. i think that s absolutely right. people are nervous about that kind of change, particularly about this kind of change because people have experience with the private health insurance market. they know what it s like. they don t like it. and so the idea, you know, for i mean think of those 54-year-olds out there who are saying, well, gee, you know, i would all of a sudden get this voucher that wouldn t cover my health insurance costs and where would i be? it s just not you re right. it can be about math. but when you talk about voucherizing a program like this, that is a loser. pat, i want to go with you on this one too. george bush in 2005 tries to change social security, tries to socialize social security
mike barnicle along with pat bu can buchanan and also political analyst and pulitzer prize-winner eugene robinson. are you going to tape nbc healthy week? i am. under no circumstances. this is where you could find the white house trainer, the new jersey housewives and others at the same event. they re awesome. we had a good time. you can tell i was really into it there. yeah. you were the what not to do versus what to do in terms of healthy eating. very exciting. it was nice of you to come. yeah. congratulations. i didn t see the book signing. yes, there was. thank you, harold. can we go back to the middle east?
harold. he balanced the budget. no. come on. he signed it. he stood by his values. you get credit, but you cannot deny him credit. i m talking about medicare. he demagogued medicare shamelessly. he was lectured by the washington post and even left wingers because it was such a disgraceful dem gotting of med kafrmt republicans did it in 2010. democrats are doing it in 2012. fair enough. democrats should have come back and done health care a little differently. i agree with you. you used two or three reasons. stock prices going up and all. republicans should do the same thing. go out. take camp s advice and john boehner s advice and do what this polling group suggests. you can do it. this is not the right way to do it. pat buchanan, it seems to me because of what i ve been talking about, you ve got to address the entitlement programs.
but what s happened here, pat, is everybody that supports entitlement reform now gets lumped with paul ryan s plan, so doesn t it make sense for the senate to come up with their own plan that doesn t completely change the program? you know, joe, i think it does because you cannot go into the election of 2012 with the ryan plan. there s no doubt, as you ve said and everybody said, social security, medicare, medicaid, and frankly foreign bases all have got to be dealt with, but the oblem is, i think, the ryan thing looks like it abolishes medicare or it lends itself to a demagoguic argument which ends medicare which is a very tough argument to go against when you re in sound bite territory. you re exactly right. you cannot win that argument. too much on your plate? no matter when you get around to booking, hotels.com will have a great last minute deal waiting for you. like at the hotels.com 48 hour sale. this tuesday and wednesday only.
social conservative, the tea party conservative, someone that brings people out of their chairs. now, this is something that the people of iowa, an enormous number of people are looking for. they loved this in new hampshire. of course, they re crazy about it in south carolina. there is that wide opening now in the republican plier rachls think santorum is trying to fill it, and i don t know if he can. doing think this field is complete. but, pat, you have santorum as you stated burke they don t seem to be buying into him right now. you have newt gingrich who has been focused on the tea party crowd for a very long time. that s not going anywhere. michele bachmann is talking about jumping into the race. i m sorry she s going to end up being no more of a distraction. she may be a distraction but i will say this. if she gets into the iowa caucuses the way i see them right now and the straw poll in august which is three months