Noteworthy: even though Congressman Beauprez administered the distribution of the public tickets to the event, sent an email warmly expressing his support for Social Security privatization and encouraging the faithful to attend, he was practically invisible this afternoon. I got a couple choice photos of the back of his head, and he never once appeared onstage. Bush mentioned him, of course, but only as part of a long list of GOP minor leaguers like Joe Stengel and Mark Hillman. I'm thinking snub -- maybe because Beauprez's support for this scheme is a bit of a tough subject? I digress. Since the President was running a little late, Governor Owens went on for a couple of minutes to warm up the crowd. And as much as they try, Social Security reform just doesn't get your average soccer mom's blood flowing. So we got Owens' best '9/11-American President-exporting democracy' speech. And the crowd went wild. I was waiting for everybody to hold hands and pray for Terri Schiavo, but it looks like the advance men checked the polls first. When John McCain got his turn, he took a moment to explain that while Social Security was the topic tonight, he felt obligated to tell us a little story about 9/11, our American President, and how awesome it was to be exporting democracy. And the crowd went wild. It occured to me that these people think they can sell just about anything -- Prima Nocte, whatever -- if they tell a 9/11 story before the pitch. Then came about half an hour of dumbed-down White House Social Security privatization talking points. Go to the website and read them, and spare yourself from ever having to sit through one of these. After you do, go get some facts, and remind yourself why 65% of Americans aren't buying. After the show ended, the wife and I headed straight for the exit -- and stood there for forty minutes until the Secret Service decided it was okay for everyone to leave. As the suits around me grew more and more exasperated, I made a joke about how these are Republicans, damn it, and they don't take well to this sort of commie bread line. It was well received.