“GOOD MORNING, everybody. Tomorrow the House is planning to take up legislation to raid the Social Security trust fund of $400 billion for another tax cut.”

With those words, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle began his daily press conference on April 17. It,s pretty standard Daschle rhetoric on taxes, almost Clintonian in its mendacity. The measure the House took up and passed on April 18 with a 229-198 margin was not for “another tax cut.” It’s the same tax cut both houses of Congress passed last year. Supporters of the bill simply want to make those tax cuts permanent, rather than allowing them to “sunset” after 10 years as they are now scheduled to do.