Was Social Security Reform a Mistake?

I don't think so, and neither, it seems, does Viking Pundit. Commenting on a Fred Barnes piece suggesting Bush and team adopt a Social Security exit strategy, Eric has this to say:

...there�s still a chance that Dubya can turn things around perhaps by shifting the argument from solvency to financial freedom. But, whatever may occur, I believe that Republicans will be rewarded � not punished � for taking on the issue of Social Security�s long-term solvency. It would be wrong to think about the midterm elections when there is a strong case for responsible reform.

To which I might add, ditto. If mistakes were made, they were tactical; just as the best argument for the liberation of Iraq was never WMDs, but the transformation of the Middle East 'equation', so it can be said that perhaps we should have emphasized the financial freedom argument, as Eric calls it, from the beginning. I hope he's right that it will be a long-term plus, politically, but regardless, it was and is the right thing to do. And that should be the bottom line.