Over at Tapped, Garance Franke-Ruta points to this Weekly Standard article in which Fred Barnes lists all the poll-tested expressions he thinks the White House needs to use in trying to sell its Social Security plan (e.g., "personal" instead of "private" in reference to the accounts). Franke-Ruta says the article "should be required reading for anyone on the pro-Social Security side."

While we're talking about effective rhetoric, I like the expression Franke-Ruta uses right there: "pro-Social Security." Why don't we take this up? We're "pro-Social Security" -- and the Republicans aren't. What we favor is Social Security -- and what the Republicans favor isn't.

I know Democrats can never pull this kind of thing off, but I'd love to see what would happen if opponents of the Bush plan took great care at every possible opportunity to describe themselves as "pro-Social Security" (the way the anti-abortionists have long called themselves "pro-life"). We need memes. I think this is a good one.