Nathan Tabak

David M. Cote, CEO of the mega-corporation Honeywell, has been enjoying a high profile in Washington of late, as one of two Republicans appointed by President Obama to his bipartisan debt commission.

This post is part of our ongoing "Virtual Summit on Fiscal and Economic Responsibility for People Who Did Not Wreck The Economy."

President Obama issued a proclamation declaring May 2010 “Older Americans Month.” This is a noble-sounding document, filled with praise for “these treasured individuals who have contributed so much to our nation.” But in several important respects, this lofty rhetoric just doesn’t match the harsh reality of what the administration’s debt commission is proposing for actual older Americans.

Here’s what the proclamation has to say about Social Security: “By strengthening Medicare and Medicaid, while protecting Social Security, we help ensure all Americans can age with dignity.” Yet this is a long way from what Obama’s debt commission, and the people on it, are saying.

Former Republican senator Alan Simpson, along with President Clinton’s chief of staff Erskine Bowles, are the two co-chairs of the debt commission. When they were interviewed on Fox News Sunday last week, Simpson had this to say about Social Security and its recipients:

When opponents of Social Security speak out in favor of eviscerating the program, they rarely do so with the candor of Colorado Republican Rick O’Donnell. Don’t remember him?