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Bureaucracy gives way to the forces of the free market.
That, in essence, is the concept behind the Medicare plan Texas Governor George W. Bush unveiled last week. But it is also the basic approach behind a bipartisan plan that has been languishing on Capitol Hill for more than a year. And it was the notion Newt Gingrich put forward in 1995 when he was House Speaker, setting up the political standoff that produced that year's infamous government shutdowns. It may not be a new idea, but Bush's plan marks the first time a candidate has put the idea of privatizing Medicare front and center in a presidential campaign. Attention last week centered on prescription-drug coverage, one of this year's hottest political issues, which Bush would address initially by giving grants to states to help buy drugs for needy elderly.