May have to cut

Michael Leavitt, President Bush's choice to be secretary of Health and Human Services, may have to cut billions of dollars from the government's mammoth health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled to pare the budget deficit.

The Medicare and Medicaid programs, consuming nearly $500 billion a year and growing quickly, could be vulnerable in the context of last year's $413 billion budget deficit, the ongoing war in Iraq, costly domestic security commitments and administration plans to revamp Social Security without raising taxes.

Bush selected Leavitt, the Environmental Protection Agency chief, on Monday, filling one of the last two openings in his second-term Cabinet. Bush praised Leavitt as a "fine executive" and "a man of great compassion ... an ideal choice to lead one of the largest departments of the United States government."

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If you haven't caught on yet, this is the MO for BushCo. Use words that elecit positive beliefs while behaving in opposite ways. Spout compassion and act ruthlessly. And did I mention that Mr. Leavitt was once a CEO in an insurance company that picks up the slack from Medicare selling "Medigap" policies? No? He still has an investment in the company (somewhere between 5 and 25 million - speaking of gaps), and his brother is still there. In fact, the company's name is The Leavitt Group. But then, I don't see any conflict of interest there, do you? Dick Cheney wouldn't.

Cutting and gutting the social services of this country is one of the Bush administration's priorities. May have to cut isn't the way I'd have put it.

...but hey, put it any way you want...you will anyway.