Smirky= 'a little bit heartless' (Medicare Drug Plan)

[deminks]

Bush Prescribes Family Help on Drug Plan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031501575.html?nav=rss_politics

Faced with a persistent questioner who asked him what could be done to help her elderly mother understand Medicare's new prescription drug plan, President Bush offered a suggestion that at first elicited shocked gasps, and then supportive applause, from an audience of retirees in Silver Spring yesterday.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you your business, but I think it's your responsibility to help your mom," Bush told Wendy Meyeroff. She had asked him to consider extending the May 15 deadline for registering for the new benefit without a penalty, but Bush refused.

Maryland Democrats used Bush's presence as an opportunity to attack the plan. "Unfortunately, this prescription drug program is helping America's seniors the way the federal government helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said at a rally in Silver Spring sponsored by an advocacy group.

Audience member Alan Mayers, a retired federal worker, said Bush's answer didn't account for seniors who don't have help from a child. "I think that was a little bit heartless, but consistent with the general approach of the administration toward safety nets," he said.