Social Security privatization -- it's back. And the AARP is in the bag again, as it is on the GOP's prescription-drugs bill:

With the stock market climbing and a re-election campaign approaching, the Bush administration is renewing its push to overhaul Social Security with personal investment accounts.

The Social Security Administration, with AARP and the National Association of Manufacturers, is organizing town hall meetings across the country to help build public support for changes.

Supporters of personal accounts say President Bush's political advisers have been urging them to increase their efforts in battleground states with debates, speeches and fund-raisers.

...Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is introducing a bill Tuesday in an effort to revive the debate about whether younger workers should be allowed to invest a portion of their payroll taxes in the stock market. His plan, many activists think, could serve as a foundation for legislation in 2005, should Bush get re-elected.

Bush, who campaigned on the idea in 2000, has identified Social Security reform as a key legislative issue for his second term and intends to run on it again in next year's campaign, said Graham, who spoke with the president about the issue and his own plan last week at a South Carolina fund-raiser.

''He says this is a winning issue people will embrace this idea if we're bold enough to lead on it,'' Graham said. ''I'm very proud of the president. He's the key to this because to get the public behind something new, you're going to need presidential support.''...

--Boston Globe

Oh, by the way, who's going to manage these accounts? The same folks who are currently mismanaging mutual funds?

(Thanks to BuzzFlash for the Globe link.)