A FUNNY thing happened to George W. Bush while he was preaching the virtues of his tax-cut program last week: His fellow Republicans started backing away from it.
It was a bad week for the presidential nominee. He fell into an old habit of making "bloopers" in his speeches -- "terrors" when he meant "tariffs," "hostile" when he meant "hostage."
He has also fallen behind in opinion polls in some key states.
But his biggest problem is an inability to rally support behind his centerpiece proposal, a $1.3 trillion tax cut.
First among skeptical Republicans was Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, who introduced Mr. Bush at an airport rally last week, and then indicated to reporters that the Bush tax cuts are too big.
Next came Rep. Rick A. Lazio, running against Hillary R. Clinton in that high-profile New York Senate race. He distanced himself from the Bush plan and called for a much smaller tax-cut package, which is closer in size to Democratic nominee Al Gore's plan.
There's good reason to question the Bush proposal. His economic assumptions are unrealistic (for instance, that there won't be any growth in federal programs for 10 years), his tax cuts are heavily slanted toward the rich and his plan could leave government in a deep deficit in the next recession.
For instance, recent statistics point to a slowing economy. Existing home sales slumped nearly 10 percent in July. Rising corporate profits have been cut in half. Consumer spending dropped to its slowest pace in four years. Purchases of durable goods plunged by a record 12 percent last month.
No wonder the GOP nominee can't sell his nostrum to skeptical Americans. His plan projects booming surpluses all the way to 2010, but slower growth suggests the extra cash may dry up in the next few years.
It's time for Mr. Bush to realize what many people already seem to know: Good times never last, and the priority now should be on paying off debt and safeguarding Social Security and Medicare. Mr. Bush had better come to that realization quickly if he wants his good times to last into November.
