When the emperor has no clothes, it's considered bad form to comment on his anatomy. The emperor dressed better than expected, though not so well as in his last display. The pundits do not want to misbehave. Nor do the network news shows want to take precious minutes to demonstrate that Bush's knock on Social Security for delivering only a 2 percent return flunks out. The 2 percent net is what contributors ultimately get because they are paying for their mothers' and fathers' pensions.
Reasons are too much to ask.
Today, as then, they bend so far backward they fall down on the hopelessly old-fashioned task of informing the public. Now, again, they are making themselves useful idiots for an empty charmer.