Aging Conference Lacks Bush; He’s the First President Not to Speak at Event Held By White House

By Sean Mussenden; Sean Mussenden is a national correspondent in Media General’s Washington Bureau. E-mail him at smussenden@mediageneral.com

President Bush was a no-show at his own White House Conference on Aging.

The once-a-decade gathering, which wraps up today in a hotel in Washington, brought together more than a thousand aging specialists to find solutions to problems expected by the coming wave of baby boomer retirements. Social Security and Medicare were on everyone’s mind.

And so was the president who wasn’t there.

The White House has been hosting aging conferences about every decade since the 1960s. Bush is the first president not to speak at the conference, long-time participants said, and some felt slighted. Some delegates got the impression that the president isn’t committed to solving seniors’ problems.

When Bush makes speeches, he usually faces audiences of supporters. The crowd at the aging conference was bipartisan and included vocal critics of the president.

"He didn’t come because he didn’t want to get embarrassed. He has some smart strategists," said Tony Fransetta, president of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans. "We have been totally ignored."

Nancy Hall, who works with seniors in Winston-Salem, N.C., said, "People are very disappointed and puzzled, because a lot of the issues that are on the agenda here are issues that President Bush says he cares about. I think it sends a message that aging issues aren’t a priority for him at this point."

In January, Bush made adding private retirement accounts to Social Security a cornerstone of his domestic agenda. The plan has gone nowhere. Some delegates speculated that the White House was uncomfortable sending Bush to a conference where Social Security reform was the hottest — and most controversial — topic.

But White House spokesman Allen Abney said the purpose of the conference was for delegates to discuss issues facing seniors and boomers, find solutions and present ideas to the president. Their report is due in June.

Bush did meet briefly with seniors yesterday — 16 miles away in Springfield, Va., where he promoted the new Medicare prescription drug program.

Abney noted that Bush sent to the conference Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, domestic policy adviser Claude Allen; and Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Conference organizers said they received no explanation for Bush’s absence.