President Bush has a classic Michael Kinsley moment (in which a political figure commits a gaffe by telling the truth) today at one of those Social Security bamboozle stops:

I like the idea of somebody saying, here's your asset and you can leave it to whomever you want. And the more people are able to do that in our society, the better off society is. See, I think government ought to promote an ownership society. We ought to encourage more people to own their own home, encourage entrepreneurs to be able to take risk and own their own business -- and in this case, encourage Americans from all walks of life, if they so choose, to manage their own retirement account. And I say, manage it -- you know it's your money; you're going to have some choices to make when it comes to a personal savings account. You can't take it to the lottery, by the way. You notice I've been stressing conservative mix of bonds and stocks, because we want this account to grow and be a part of a modern safety net for you in your retirement. And so there will be some guidelines.

And I can predict to you that it works because a lot of other people have watched their money grow in the same kind of accounts, including people who work for the federal government. See, we have got in Washington what's called a Thrift Savings Plan. And members of the United States Senate, for example, can choose, if they so desire, to set aside some of their own money in a personal savings account, a voluntary personal savings account. And a lot of people like it.

I think -- I was doing one of these events with Senator McCain, who told me that his rate of return on his money was, like, 7 percent over the last 20 years. That's a lot better than the 1.8 percent we now get for you in the Social Security system. And so my attitude about this issue on thrift savings plans when I speak to members of the Congress is pretty simple -- if the idea of taking some of your own money and setting it aside in a conservative mix of bonds and stocks is good enough for you, Mr. Senator, it is good enough for workers all across the United States of America. (Applause.) You'll be happy to hear Senator McCain agrees with me, because he's seen his money grow.

Now, a personal savings account would be a part of a Social Security retirement system. It would be a part of what you would have to retire when you reach retirement age. As you -- as I mentioned to you earlier, we're going to redesign the current system. If you've retired, you don't have anything to worry about -- third time I've said that. (Laughter.) I'll probably say it three more times. See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda. (Applause.)

I guess he hasn't realized yet that inclusive personal accounts are a non-starter and that his entire agenda on Social Security is pretty much dead in the water. You also have to love that line recieved applause, as if a town meeting comprising an actual representative sampling of Americans instead of hand-picked party hacks would applaud a president who's approval ratings are sinking faster than the Titanic who's coming out for catapulting propaganda.