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Special coverage: Medicare

A Medicare pitch from salesman-in-chief

By BILL ADAIR
Published May 10, 2006

	[Times photo: Joseph Garnett Jr.]
	Flanked by his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, on left, President Bush speaks with staff of the Sun City Center fire station on Tuesday afternoon after being briefed on the brush fires.
	Watch video

SUN CITY CENTER - President Bush became a traveling salesman for his Medicare drug plan on Tuesday, urging seniors to sign up before the deadline Monday.

Sounding like he was working on commission and eager to make a sale, Bush told a crowd of retirees that the drug plan would save them lots of money.

"If you haven't looked at this program, take a look, take a look," he said. "I think you're going to find what I said was true."

He said the program would save an average person 50 percent on their drug costs, which he said was "a good deal for America's seniors."

After making his sales pitch, Bush invited questions from the audience and the event became a free-wheeling forum on many of the major issues facing his presidency - gas prices, the global economy and the growing dispute over nuclear technology with Iran.

A local Democratic activist criticized the drug program. A woman wondered why the government wasn't doing more to encourage solar power. A man said he had patented a method for stopping hurricanes.

Bush, who was criticized for his response to Hurricane Katrina, smiled at the man and asked, "Where were you last year?"

*   *   *

Bush's visit to the retirement community in southern Hillsborough County was the second stop in a three-city Florida tour to promote the Medicare drug plan, a major initiative of his first term. He began the day in Broward County, where he greeted seniors who were signing up for the program.

He arrived at MacDill Air Force Base in the late morning and was greeted by Reps. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, and Katherine Harris, a Longboat Key Republican who is running for the Senate. Although a key Bush aide last week signaled that the White House might support state House Speaker Allan Bense to run against Harris, she and Bush seemed to chat amiably.

He then presented the President's Volunteer Service award to Julie Whitney, 55, co-founder of the Bayshore Patriots. Every Friday since Sept 11, 2001, Whitney has stood on Bayshore Boulevard and waved an American flag.

After Bush arrived in Sun City Center, he spoke to a packed auditorium of 400 seniors. Many said they had not signed up for the drug program but plan to before the deadline.

Bush acknowledged the program is complex because so many companies are offering the coverage, but he said children of Medicare beneficiaries should help their parents figure it out.

"I believe the son or a daughter has a duty to help the mom or dad understand what's available," Bush said. "That's what sons and daughters are supposed to do. That's called love."

As usual at presidential events, the crowd was overwhelmingly Bush supporters. One woman told him "I think you're great." Another woman told him, "All the Christians stand behind you."

But there were several in the crowd who disagreed with the president.

Glenn Wright, 57, a Hillsborough County Democratic activist, agreed that the drug plan would help many seniors but said it has significant flaws. He said drug companies can change which drugs are covered, a practice he said was a "bait and switch" on seniors. He said the program was too costly because it did not permit the government to negotiate the lowest prices.

Bush said that he disagreed and that the program took advantage of the free market by allowing consumers to make choices rather than the government.

*   *   *

The 30-minute question-and-answer period covered most of the major challenges facing Bush in his second term, as he struggles to boost his record-low approval ratings.

A woman said she was "very worried" about Iran developing nuclear technology, which prompted a lengthy answer from Bush about the administration's diplomatic efforts to get other countries to put pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program.

Another woman said she was concerned that the United States had lost its competitive edge to other countries in agriculture and technology. Bush said the United States needed to be part of the global economy.

"The alternative is to shut ourselves off, and I think that would be a huge mistake," Bush said. "It's really interesting when you look at the 1920s. During that period of time, the American people became isolated with high protective tariffs, and it eventually was part of the reasons why we had a Great Depression. And I think we always must be mindful of the lessons of history."

Another questioner asked why the government had ignored the lessons of the last energy crisis and not put more emphasis on solar power. Bush replied that the government had provided incentives for alternative fuels but that, until recently, the low price of crude oil lulled people into complacency and "made it more difficult for alternatives to compete."

The most unusual question came from a man who said he had a patented plan to "stop hurricanes when they're young and vulnerable."

He said he gave the plan to a senator who supposedly forwarded it to Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, but Rove must not have shown it to Bush. So he said he gave another copy to a Bush aide at the event.

Later, retired New York firefighter Patrick Quinn said he brought a letter with suggestions for fixing the Social Security crisis. Bush invited him to bring it to the stage after the event.

Bush added, "the hurricane guy can show up here with his answer, too."

[Last modified May 10, 2006, 10:20:17]