MEANWHILE, ON THE SOCIAL SECURITY FRONT

A couple items down in Mike Allen's political wrap-up in Thursday's Washington Post (including Mehlman's meaningless apology for the "southern strategy"), we see this:

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) now thinks he may not begin consideration of Social Security legislation until September, an aide said. Thomas told an Associated Press reporter yesterday that, "The issue is dealing with more time-sensitive legislation first." He said Social Security "is not time-sensitive, and we are going to pass CAFTA," the Central American Free Trade Agreement, before Congress begins its summer break. Thomas, referring to a congressional trip to Cape Canaveral, Fla., that canceled votes yesterday, said: "There's no hang-up on contents. It's just how many days we got and how many space shuttles don't get off the ground."

The closer the Social Security debate gets to the 2006 midterms, the less likely a private accounts scheme--or, for that matter, any plan with large cuts--has any chance of passage.