Straddling the Fence on Personal Accounts

All those fingers in the air at the SOTU last night were in honor of Iraqi voters. From the looks of things, they're still in the air today, testing the political winds on Social Security.

It appears that many Republican members of Alabama's congressional delegation can't make up their minds on whether to support personal accounts. Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Spencer Bachus are the only ones who pretty much have said, "Yes, I'm for personal accounts."

Senator Shelby hemmed and hawed, probably remembering how he originally won his Senate seat back in 1986. In that election, he misleadingly accused Republican Sen. Jeremiah Denton of voting to cut Social Security. Shelby was a Democrat back then, and although he is now a reliably conservative Republican, I still can't quite forgive him for defeating Denton.

Speaking of which...If you don't know the story of Jeremiah Denton's courage and heroism, be sure to click on the previous link and this one, and check out this review of his book, When Hell Was In Session (also a made-for-TV movie).

Denton has been in the news more recently. During election season, many people read this piece in which he gives his opinion of fellow Vietnam Vet John Kerry . Also, on Independence Day last year, he was scheduled to speak at a celebration on the floor of the California Assembly. However, the Democratic leadership objected , saying that Denton was an "ultraconservative Republican and member of the religious right who is opposed to the separation of church and state." They refused to allow him on the floor to speak. (Now we know where San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi gets that warmth and charm she displayed last night.)