Bush the huckster

I'm trying to come up with a word that describes the fact that Bush is scaring youngsters into thinking their Social Security won't be there for them and then proposing private accounts which not only do nothing to solve the problem, but are actually more than likely to make the situation that much worse.

Here's Bush in Florida:

Promoting his Social Security privatization plan in Tampa on Friday, President Bush urged a supportive crowd to pressure Florida's congressional delegation to back it, singling out young workers as those with the most at stake.

"If you're a youngster," Bush told about 1,000 people invited to the Tampa Convention Center, "I'd be knocking on the members of the Congress and the Senate's door to say, 'What are you going to do?'"

Over and over, the president said young workers don't believe that the 70-year-old retirement program, which has never defaulted on a payment, will be capable of paying them promised benefits when they retire.

"See, when the word gets out to the Congress that there's a lot of young folks saying, 'I don't think I'm ever going to see a dime unless Congress acts,' that'll get people acting," Bush said.

This may well be true that is will get people acting, perhaps even on a proposal that makes Social Security even more fiscally sound. But the private account thing doesn't do that. The White House knows it. Bush knows it. But he continues to try the misdirection to make people think otherwise.

I guess maybe "huckstering?"

Any better ideas?