Sen. Baucus still unswayed

So the "Legacy of Crisis" tour rages on, but we go back to yesterday's stops to see how the performance went.

Apparently the target audience isn't convinced:

At yesterday's town meeting in Great Falls, Montana, Senator Max Baucus listened to Bush's plan for private retirement accounts. But he said he still thinks it would cause big benefit cuts and a big jump in the debt. Says Baucus: "I have to call them as I see them."

Perhaps even more intriguing:

But at yesterday's stop in Fargo, North Dakota, Democratic Senator Kent Conrad said several G-O-P senators approached him about an alternative since they know Bush's plan can't pass.

The Bush plan is almost certainly dead, and all this touring is like lipstick on - well, a dying pig, really. Bush would go down in flames if he proposed a plan and gave up on it in a matter of Washington minutes.

Republicans will push for as much as they can get from all of this, but the united Democratic front has done wonders to kill this raid on Social Security before the heist was done being planned.