The Powerpoint Presidency

The most remarkable thing is the form of the "memo" that is being drafted for Bush: it is a seven-page Powerpoint presentation plus nine pages of charts. 659 text words total. That's one text word for every ten billion dollars that is going to be spent on Social Security over the next decade, and one word for every hundred billion dollars that is going to be spent on Social Security over the next half century. Hell is briefing someone like George W. Bush on a complicated issue like Social Security reform. (The 2004 Economic Report of the President's discussion of Social Security reform is about 7,000 words, and it just skims the surface of the issues itself.)

When Reagan and his advisors are beginning look like wise men next to Bush and his advisors...