Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke Pdf Download

The body horror of the book is largely intuited, and that makes it all the more ferocious, yet the use of sickness as a proxy for family works well. The way that Cross leads Petrella through her transformation feels right at home in a media landscape scarred by high profile tabloid stories where online partners scheme with their admirers to kill their parents or kill themselves, like the Michelle Carter case where she was charged after coaxing her teenage boyfriend to commit suicide through a series of text messages. The ambiguity of these cases hangs over the text itself: Cross pulls away and Petrella keeps going, even accelerates, until things have gotten worse than could have been imagined.

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan

The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

Press Briefing

view Social Security/Chairman Thomas Reference B Dr. Rice hearings/criticism on Iraq policy Speech prep Swearing-in ceremony/security issues President's agenda Ownership society North Korea/congressmen's visit Farm subsidies12:48 P.M. EST MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Hope everybody made it herethrough the snow. The President is looking forward to taking the oathof office tomorrow. He is honored to be given the opportunity by theAmerican people to continue serving for another four years. ThePresident, in his remarks, will talk about the historic times in whichwe live, and he'll talk about his hopeful vision for America and theworld. He will be addressing the American people and the world in hisremarks. It is a liberty speech. The President will talk about the power offreedom; peace is secured by advancing freedom. And I also expect thePresident will talk about how the ideals and values that we hold sodearly, our deepest-held beliefs, promote our most vital interest.America has great influence, and the President believes it is vital toour interest to use it to make the world a better and safer place. Andthe President will also talk about extending freedom at home byreforming our institutions and building an ownership society. ThePresident will talk about the importance of character, and the remarkswill also highlight the philosophy that guides us as we work togetherto build a better and more hopeful world, and a stronger America. Andthe President is very much looking forward to tomorrow's events. And with that, I will be glad to take questions. Q So does the President believe that his Social Security proposals will still have a life by the time they get to Congress? MR. McCLELLAN: Which proposal are you referring to, John? ThePresident has outlined some very clear principles that should guide usas we move forward to address Social Security. Social Security facesmany serious challenges and members on both sides of the aisle inCongress recognize the problems facing Social Security and the need tomove forward on solutions to address it now, because it only gets worseover time. And so there are a number of congressional leaders that we'rereaching out to and talking to about ideas for how we move forwardtogether to solve this problem. The President looks forward tolistening to all ideas that are consistent with his principles abouthow we can move forward to get it done this year. Q But in an article, one prominent Republican pronounced theidea a "dead horse." And I'm just wondering if the President thinks hecan still reinvigorate that horse and ride it up to the Hill. MR. McCLELLAN: I would encourage you to read his entire remarks,because he said a lot more than what you just referenced. And, infact, he said that he didn't want to rule anything in or out. And youmight want to talk to his office, as well. He was talking about theneed to move forward on solving a problem. The President believes verystrongly that we must solve problems, not pass them on to futuregenerations. Q Scott, they're not mutually exclusive. You can not ruleanything in or out, and still say, as the Congressman did, that hebelieves that partisan bickering will render the President's proposalto create private accounts a "dead horse." He was making aprediction. Does the President find it helpful that Republicanlawmakers are already wagering on what will happen with the -- MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that you're characterizing exactlywhat he said correctly. I think you should talk to his office aboutwhat he was saying. But let me make it very clear; we have greatrespect for Chairman Thomas and his leadership. He's someone that wewill continue to work very closely with as we move forward to solvethis problem. He recognizes, as do other members in Congress on bothsides of the aisle, that we have a serious problem facing SocialSecurity and we need to act now to solve that problem, because this isa problem that will continue to get worse over time, our options wouldbecome much more limited. Right now, younger workers are facing massive tax increases ormassive benefit cuts under the current system. The President wants tohelp them realize a greater rate of return on their savings by adding anew benefit, and taking other steps to strengthen Social Security.We're going to work very closely with members on both sides of theaisle as we move forward. But what's important is that we act now.It's important that -- or I think significant that members are talkingabout how we can solve this problem and the need to act on it now.That's a significant first step for moving forward in a bipartisan --bipartisan way to get this problem solved this year. Look, legislation -- legislation, anytime it goes through Congress,tends to change during the process. The President looks forward toworking with members to move forward on legislation. And we'll betalking about it more in the coming weeks and months. Q There does appear to be some restiveness up on the Hill, andeven Congressman McCrery indicated that the President needs to lead onthis issue, that they were looking for more guidance from thePresident; rather than some larger principles, they wanted specifics sothey could move forward. When would you expect that the President -- MR. McCLELLAN: The President is leading on this issue. He led onthis issue in 2000; he led on this issue in the 2004 campaign; and hehas made it very clear he will continue to lead on this issue. He'shad good meetings with members of Congress, both Democrats andRepublicans alike, to talk about how we can move forward on thisimportant priority. And he's made it very clear that he will continueleading as we move forward on this issue, but that he wants to workclosely with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle whorecognize there is a problem, to get something done. And that's -- thePresident believes that we have an obligation to lead and act toaddress our most pressing problems. And this is one of them and that'swhat he will do. Q What is your understanding of what Chairman Thomas wassaying? MR. McCLELLAN: I don't speak for members of Congress. I'll letthem speak for themselves. Q No, but you clearly have an understanding. You're quibblingwith what some people here interpreted -- MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it was interesting, I read some of thecoverage of his remarks yesterday, and there was one paper that playedup certain things that he said, but there was other coverage that gavea fuller account of what he was talking about. But what I do know hewas talking about was that we have a serious problem facing SocialSecurity. And he was talking about the need to look at solutions forgetting it done. That's the -- that's the kind of people that thePresident wants to work closely with to get this done. Q So you don't think that he was suggesting that you didn't havea chance on Capitol Hill, but rather that it would face some partisanheadwinds? MR. McCLELLAN: I think you should look at some of the othercoverage. I'll let him speak for himself about what he was talkingabout. But I pointed out that during the legislative process youexpect that legislation to change. That's part of working to getthings done. And the President looks forward to continuing to workwith members and continuing to work with Chairman Thomas and otherleaders to get this done. Q Is that what you saw as the bottom line in his remarks, thatlegislation gets up there and gets changed, so you have to work withboth sides? Is that -- MR. McCLELLAN: I thought what was important about his remarks isthat he's talking about the serious challenges facing Social Securityand the need to move forward together to address that challenge. Q Scott, does the President still believe that there's a crisis-- MR. McCLELLAN: John. I'll come back to you. Go ahead, John. Q Two questions, one, half in jest -- MR. McCLELLAN: I'll come back to you. Q -- half in jest, I guess, on the subject we're still talkingabout. But now that he has Chairman Thomas to negotiate with and notjust himself -- (laughter) -- is the President willing to maybe say alittle bit more about how he'd pay for this, or what he might change inSocial Security as part of his plan? MR. McCLELLAN: We're continuing to talk with members of Congressabout how to move forward together to address this problem that SocialSecurity faces. Q Wondering how you would react to a common theme that came upat Dr. Rice's confirmation hearings, a pointed criticism by Democrats, including Senator Biden and some others, that in their view, that Dr. Rice -- and the rest of the administration, for that matter -- are not leveling with the American people about what they call problems in Iraq, and not willing to say that, yes, some mistakes were made along the way. MR. McCLELLAN: John, I think you had an interview with thePresident yesterday, and you talked about these very issues. ThePresident was very up front with the American people about what we'refacing in Iraq and what we're working to achieve in Iraq. You wentthrough some of these very issues in your interview, I think. And Iapologize if it was Jim's interview, and not yours -- but I think itwas yours. (Laughter.) Q It wasn't mine. (Laughter.) Q Just to clarify. (Laughter.) Q Not this time, anyway. (Laughter.) MR. McCLELLAN: All right, Steve, you'll get one before him.(Laughter.) Just kidding. Q Does the President still believe there's a crisis in SocialSecurity and that the crisis is now? MR. McCLELLAN: John, we talked about this last week. We can argueover the words crisis or not a crisis, but the bottom line is thatthere is a serious problem facing Social Security. Younger workerstoday -- my generation and younger generations expect that they won'thave any savings, when they retire, in their Social Security accounts.That's why the President wants to act to strengthen it. We see that in2018 that the number of people paying into the system won't be able tosupport the benefits being paid out and that -- Q I understand the math -- MR. McCLELLAN: -- and that gets worse over time. Q -- but it was just that idea of a "crisis." And if there's anargument, the argument is with yourselves, it's not with us, because hewas the one who used the word. MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think when you -- that's why I'm pointing outthe demographic facts. If you look at the demographic facts, I thinkthey're very clear that there is a serious problem facing SocialSecurity. Some people can argue that there's not a problem facingSocial Security, but they're just sticking their head in the sand andignoring a problem that's only going to get worse over time. We standby what we said before. But I said, regardless of whether or not youwant to argue crisis or not a crisis, I think we can -- I think mostpeople will agree that we face a serious challenge and a real problemwith Social Security and we need to act to address it now. When you talk about 1950, you had 16 workers to support every oneretiree, and today you have about 3.3 to support every retiree, andthat number keeps going down. You're going to have shortfalls into thesystem. And it's only going to get worse over time until it goesbankrupt in 2042, according to the Social Security trustees. And ouroptions become much more limited over time if we don't act now. Wehave more options available to us today than we will tomorrow. And thePresident believes that's why we need to take advantage of thisopportunity and solve this problem. Q First on Social Security. Can we take your carefully hedgedremarks about specific proposals to mean that the President has not yetdecided whether to send to the Hill something with specifics in it? MR. McCLELLAN: We never get into internal discussions here, but Ithink the President has made it clear that he intends to put forwardsome possible solutions so that we can move forward together to getthis solved this year. So I think he's made that -- he's made thatvery clear. We'll have more to say about it as we move forward on the process.The President is not going to get into discussing those specifics herein the media, or anything of that nature. He wants to talk about itdirectly with members of Congress. Q Not asking about the specifics, I'm asking whether he's goingto have a plan, or multiple plans. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's put forward some important principlesand things that need to be included in any proposal, like personalretirement accounts, no increases in payroll taxes, and no changes forthose at or near retirement. And that's how we're going to moveforward. But he'll be talking about it more over the course of time.Then we can come to specific questions about it. Q Can you update us on his preparations for the speech tomorrow, what he's doing? Is everything locked in -- MR. McCLELLAN: He was supposed to have some speech preparation ashort time ago, but that's been pushed back to later in the afternoon.I think some of the events from this morning ran a little bit late, andhe's participating in a family luncheon right now over in theResidence. He has a number of family members here for tomorrow'sevents. And I think we, in fact, plan to release a photo of that -- ofthe family to everybody later today. I think they're going to take apicture on the South Portico. The President, right now, is on draft 21 of his remarks. The editsthat have taken place over the last few days are very minor edits atthis point. But every time there's a change, it becomes a new draft.It's still expected to be 17 minutes long, and I talked about some ofthe general themes that he will be discussing tomorrow in his remarks.He's looking forward to it. Q Do you have any indication of whether the weather might affectany of the plans? MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard any update at this point.Obviously, we're looking outside just like you all are. And I knowthat the latest forecast was predicting snow, but there's always acontingency plan. Q It slowed things down this morning, though, right? Was thatone of the problems this morning? MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that the weather was the specificproblem. I think that some of these events, as we saw yesterday, likethe "Saluting Those Who Serve" event just ran a little long. Q He saw the Washington Bible this morning. Does he want to usethat tomorrow for the ceremony? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he will be using a family Bible that he usedin 2000 -- or 2001, I'm sorry -- that I know his brother used for hisgubernatorial inaugural. And I know that that's a Bible that hisfather used in addition to the one that George Washington used. Theyused two Bibles. And I know the intention back in 2001 was to also usethe George Washington Bible, but because of the weather and the fragilenature of that Bible, it was not used. They were going to -- but hisfather used both Bibles for his swearing-in ceremony. Q What will they do tomorrow? Will they -- is he going to useboth? MR. McCLELLAN: I think the intention is to use the family Bible. Q And can I follow up and ask about -- the President comes downfrom the Hill; obviously, the security around Washington different thanit was four years. Does the President feel that that's at allrestricting or limiting or restraining the celebration this year? MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the authorities have gone to greatlengths to make sure that they're -- that people can have as muchaccess as possible, while also making sure that they're taking steps toprovide for the security of this event. This was an event that wasdesignated a national special security event so the Secret Service isin charge of it, and I think they're doing an outstanding job tobalance those concerns to make sure people have the access to enjoy andcelebrate this great American tradition, as well as to take care of thesecurity needs that come with an event of this nature, particularlyduring the time of war that we are in. Q So the President doesn't feel the restraint as he moves downthe avenue? MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think that they've gone to great lengths tomake sure that they have the appropriate security measures in place,some of which you'll see and some of which you won't, and to make surethat everybody who is participating in the inaugural will be able toenjoy the celebration. This is -- the inaugural is a time for allAmericans to come together, and for all of us to focus on how we canwork together to achieve great goals. And the President looks forwardto all of tomorrow's events. He looks forward to tonight's"Celebration of Freedom" Concert. As you know, the theme for theinaugural is celebrating freedom, honoring service. And he beganyesterday by paying tribute to our men and women in uniform. And Iexpect he will continue to pay tribute to their courage and sacrificein his remarks tomorrow. Q Were all of the President's siblings at the luncheon today? MR. McCLELLAN: I think they were all scheduled to be there. I'mnot over there, it's going on right now. But you'll have the grouppicture so you can look and see for yourself. But when I looked at it,I think they were all expected to be there. Q You mentioned this morning the President was going to speak atthe chairman's event -- luncheon. We weren't able to cover that. Canyou tell us what -- what he told them at the chairman's luncheon, andwhat he's going to say tonight at the candlelight dinners? MR. McCLELLAN: It was just brief, informal remarks to thechairman's luncheon. He made some similar remarks, I think, yesterdayto the RNC Committee members and to the chairman's meeting -- orreception that was held yesterday evening. I think it's some of whatyou have heard publicly when the President has talked about hisupcoming remarks and the meaning of this inaugural and the significanceof this moment in our history. Q Do you want to share any of his -- MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you've heard from him; I'll leave it where hedid. I've shared for you some information about tomorrow's remarks, aswell. Glad to -- Q We actually didn't hear from him today. MR. McCLELLAN: -- glad to talk about that further, as well. Butyou've heard from him over the last few days. But what was the lastpart of your question? Q Tonight, he speaks also -- do you want to tell us what he'sgoing to tell them? MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, it will be brief remarks. This is a concertthat is being held for the thousands of people that are coming to townto celebrate the inaugural. And there will be a number of peopleattending this particular event. And so it will be brief remarkstalking about the significance of the moment we are in. I expect he'lltalk about how this is a time of unity for America. And I expect he'lltalk about the opportunity we have before us that we need to seize toachieve great goals, as I mentioned a second ago. And I expect he willbriefly touch on tomorrow's remarks, talking about the importance ofadvancing freedom and the power of freedom. That's a quick overview ofhis remarks tonight, but it's a brief -- Q That's the open event, the Celebration of Freedom? MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct. Q So he does make remarks there? Okay. MR. McCLELLAN: Brief remarks. Q And any update on text release tomorrow morning of theinaugural -- MR. McCLELLAN: No, we're working on all that, taking into concernyour needs. Q Scott, as you've been talking about this is a time for allAmericans to come together, and you were also saying that the Presidentwants to work with those who have ideas that are consistent with hisprinciples -- how does that mesh with this is a time to come together?Because many people do not necessarily agree with the President andmany people -- to listen to what was said with Dr. Rice's confirmationhearings, Republicans and Democrats alike were both saying, look, thePresident needs to hear yeses and noes, as well. How is that going toplay now in the second term? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, are you talking about specific issues? Areyou talking about Social -- I mean, on Social Security, the President-- Q Not just Social Security, everything. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's what you started with. Well, thePresident has made it very clear that he will continue to elevate thediscourse in this town and he will continue reaching out to all thosewant to work together to confront the big challenges that we face andto achieve big things for the American people. We were elected to cometo Washington to get things done. We have an obligation to act and tolead, to solve the problems facing America. And we have an obligationto use the influence that we have in the world to advance the idealsthat we hold so dearly. Now it's not imposing anything in terms ofAmerican views, but it's helping others attain the freedoms they aspireto achieve. Q Well, as the President says, his arm is longer now, reachingto those who voted for John Kerry. Many are saying, look, the politicsare over. This is a time for him to really get down to the brass tacks-- MR. McCLELLAN: The President has said that. Q He's not going to run for office again -- MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct. He's talked about that, as well. Q Right, politics are over. So why not discuss other issues.Get those dissenting voices in here -- MR. McCLELLAN: April, the President was elected in a -- with aclear vote from the American people on an agenda. The American peoplelooked at the two candidate's agendas and they made a decision. One ofthe things that the President talked about in the first term was hisregret that he wasn't able to do more to change the tone in Washington,D.C. But I think if you look at his record, he has always worked toelevate the discourse. He has always worked to reach out to those onthe other side of the aisle who want to get things done. Weaccomplished many big things in the first term by working in abipartisan way, by reaching out. And people were willing to reachback. Now, it got closer to the election time period and, unfortunately,partisan politics came more into play, and some of the partisan tone ofWashington, D.C. increased. And -- but the President is not up forelection again. He's here to get things done for the American people.And he hopes that members of Congress will look at this as anopportunity to do more to change the tone and do more to work togetherto achieve big things for the American people. But he has anobligation to lead on the agenda that he campaigned on for the Americanpeople. And he also believes it's important to reach out to thoseacross the aisle to listen to their ideas and focus on how we can moveforward together on the agenda that he outlined. Q Two brief questions. First, you said yesterday morning thatthe President has filled all statutory required Cabinet positions sofar. At least a few years ago, I seem to recall the United Nationsambassador being part of the President's Cabinet, and that positionremains vacant. Do we expect an announcement on that soon? MR. McCLELLAN: Continuing to move forward on it. Stay tuned. Q Stay tuned. Second, you spoke very forcefully about -- MR. McCLELLAN: He does appreciate the job that Ambassador Danforthhas done in the time that he's been there. Q You spoke very forcefully about liberty in Iraq anddemocracy. You made many good statements, in the Ukraine when peoplewere denied the right to vote and the election had to be run again.Would the administration say the same thing about Washington state,where surveys show more than 50 percent of the people don't believetheir governor was legitimately elected? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's a matter that's been in disputebetween the various parties, the Democratic and the Republican Party.They've been working to address that, and we'll let them address it. Ithink we've made our views clear on certain issues that have come up inthat election. Q You spoke earlier about a time line -- or about seeing SocialSecurity done by the end of the year. Is there any kind of time linethat you guys are looking at in terms of introducing legislation andgetting it through Congress? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President had talked about -- orreferenced the other day in one of his interviews that he would like tosee major action taken by both chambers in a matter of several months.But we're going to continue working with congressional leaders on thetime line. This is one of his top priorities. I think members ofCongress have talked about how they intend to move forward on thissoon, and make it a high priority. We've had good discussions withthem about that. And we'll move as quickly as we can, working closelywith congressional leaders to get it done. Q Scott, on the President's goal of building an ownership society, do you agree or do you believe that younger workers could achieve greater retirement savings in other ways, besides carving out payroll contributions, namely by expanding IRAs such as the lifetime savings account the Treasury has tried to propose in the last -- MR. McCLELLAN: We believe that by giving them a new benefit underthe personal retirement accounts they will be able to realize a greaterrate of return on their own retirement savings. That's the goal ofthat. It's also part of the goal to give them more ownership overtheir own retirement savings. It's a philosophical view. ThePresident trusts people. We want the American people to have morecontrol over their own lives. We want the American people to have moresay over their own lives. We want them to be able to have more controlover their own retirement savings. We want them to be able to own ahome. We want them to be able to start a small business. We want themto be able to have more say over their health insurance plans. So it'sa philosophy behind the ownership society that he will be talking abouttomorrow. Q But couldn't that goal be achieved by expanded IRAs? MR. McCLELLAN: The President has talked about why he believes thatthis is the right approach to take for strengthening Social Securityfor younger workers. I know there are differing views on this. Ithink he's made his views very clear. Q Earlier when we talked about Social Security and ChairmanThomas's remarks, you correctly pointed out that some of the newsreports had misrepresented his remarks. Do you get the sense that thisis more of the battle that you're going to face? MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not challenging the quotes -- just to beclear. I'm just saying that there are some different accounts of thecoverage. Q But they were taken out of context and led readers to believethat Chairman Thomas was going to kill this plan, when, in fact, he isvery supportive of it, and that Republicans are just waiting for thisopportunity to receive something in Congress that they can move forwardwith. So do you feel that you're going to get fair play going forwardin this discussion? MR. McCLELLAN: This is an important discussion to have, and Ithink that there is a lot of attention being focused on the problemfacing Social Security. That's a good thing. And we want to continueto talk about that. The President will continue to speak directly tothe American people and he'll continue to reach out directly tocongressional leaders to talk about how we can move forward. The firstthing we have to do is have a common understanding of the problemfacing Social Security. The facts are very clear about the problemsfacing Social Security. And the President wants to reach out and workin a bipartisan way to move forward to solve that problem. Go ahead in the back. Q Thank you so much. A week ago, several congressmen went toNorth Korea -- like Congressman Weldon just came back to Washington yesterday -- he got a message from North Korea. Did the President meet these congressmen so far? And if not, he's going to meet -- he's going to get any briefing? MR. McCLELLAN: I know that they've met -- they've met with someleaders within the administration and talked to them about their trip.The State Department talked about that the other day. We continue to-- we remain hopeful that North Korea will come back to the six-partytalks very soon. It's important that we move forward on themultilateral approach that this administration is pursuing. Allcountries in that region have made it very clear they want anuclear-free peninsula. And they're sending the same message to NorthKorea. We put forward a proposal at the last round of talks, the lastround of six-party talks, and it's important that when we come back tothe talks, we talk about how we can move forward in a substantive wayon that proposal. We believe that that was a proposal that addressesall the concerns of the various parties and is a good place to beginmoving forward to resolving North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Q Scott, does the administration believe it's actually makingheadway in convincing the public that Social Security is approaching acrisis in the years ahead? I noticed Democrats and others are accusingthe administration of employing the politics of fear to advance theagenda. MR. McCLELLAN: I would hope people would focus on solutions toproblems, rather than trying to obstruct ways to get things done. Andthat's the attitude the President is going into this importantdiscussion with. He wants to work together to solve this problem.There are many members on both sides of the aisle that recognizethere's a problem. And John asked earlier today, was it a crisis -- wecan look right back to what President Clinton said in 1998; he said itwas, and he talked about the situation facing Social Security. It'sonly gotten worse since that time. We've continued to take patchworkapproaches to addressing the problem facing Social Security. ThePresident wants a permanent solution, so that our younger workers willbe able to realize a greater rate of return on their own retirementsavings and have those retirement savings there when they retire.Right now they have an empty promise because the system isunsustainable. But as I said, the facts are very clear. And if people want toargue that it's not a problem, that's perfectly their right to do, butI think the American people recognize it's a problem. I know youngerworkers recognize that it's a serious problem because I know youngerAmericans don't believe that they're going to have their retirementsavings there when they are ready to retire. And I think you've seen anumber of surveys talking about -- or showing that there is a lot ofsupport for the idea of personal retirement accounts that would bebased on allowing the workers, if they so choose, to have somethingsimilar to what federal employees have today. These are safeinvestments that have helped federal workers realize a greater rate ofreturn on their retirement savings through the Thrift Savings Plan. Q Do you believe that quibbling over the word "crisis," itself,is distracting from the main argument? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that was one point I was discussingearlier. We can debate whether it's a crisis or not a crisis, but thefacts are very clear and it is a serious problem facing SocialSecurity. It is a problem that gets worse over time. We've made clearwe believe it is. And I think President Clinton and other democraticleaders have made clear that it is. Now it's time to talk about how wecan find solutions to this problem. Q In furtherance of an ownership society, will the Presidenttake the lead in attacking farm subsidies? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of the ownership society, I thinkthe President is going to be talking about what I addressed the otherday. I mean, he's already spoken to the issue of farm subsidies andthings of that nature. I think our views are known on that issue, andwe'll continue to work with Congress as we move forward on thoseissues, as well. Q You brought up something I said earlier, so I wanted to bringup something you said earlier. (Laughter.) Q Just because. (Laughter.) Q -- second term. (Laughter.) MR. McCLELLAN: No, it doesn't start until tomorrow. (Laughter.)That's the way to end the first term, John? (Laughter.) Q You've said that we've got more options now -- MR. McCLELLAN: He wants another interview. Q You can drag this out just as long as you like. (Laughter.) MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not in a hurry. Q You've said that we've got more options now to pick Social Security than we will down the road. Other than the ability to maximize private accounts for today's younger workers, what options are there available to you now that won't be available to you in 2018 -- MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are a number of ideas being discussed.But the tax increases will only grow over time. And the benefitreductions will have to be more drastic. And the options availablewill become more along the lines of the need to raise the retirementage significantly and things of that nature. I think everybody haspointed out, and the bipartisan commission that the President appointedhas pointed out how the problem gets worse over time and your optionsbecome more limited for addressing it, because you have less -- youhave a shorter amount of time in which to act, and you have a muchworse problem. So your options do become more limited. Q Thank you. MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you. END 1:19 P.M. EST Printer-Friendly Version Email this page to a friend IssuesBudget ManagementEducationEnergyHealth CareHomeland SecurityHurricane RecoveryImmigrationJobs & EconomyMedicareNational SecurityPandemic FluPatriot ActRenewal in IraqSocial SecurityMore Issues