Why Are Democrats Shying Away From Global Warming & Social Security?

[Politico]

These are two of the top three or four issues of 2008, right up there with Iraq and terrorism, and only Al Gore seems to be serious about global warming. On top of that, we are headed towards Boomsday and none of the Democrats are talking about Social Security like Al Gore did in 2000.

Both global warming and social security have an impact on every American and are of the utmost importance to the future of the nation, and the Democratic Party's nominees for president are seemingly shying away from the challenges they pose to us. Why?

[Padfoot]

Global warming is a very contentious topic and for a candidate to actually come out and say the words "Global Warming" and give a real opinion is a big risk.  Not everyone agrees on the causes or even the existence of global warming so I don't think you'll find many serious candidate who want to play up that aspect of their politics.  What you hear instead are words like "comprehensive energy plan" and "environmental sustainability/responsibility."  The candidates are essentially still talking about global warming they've just rephrased the wording and emphasis in order to avoid being labeled as environmental extremists.

As for Social Security, the wrong position on this issue could potentially tank an entire campaign.  So, you should expect the candidates to be treading lightly.  No one is going to say anything other than mentioning the already widely acknowledged fact that the system is in trouble and someone is going to have to fix it before the Boomers bankrupt the program.  No one is going to lay out any specifics until they're either already elected or absolutely sure that the public and Congress will accept their fix.

As a general rule, candidates tend to purposefully ignore or be vague about issues which are likely to tank their campaigns.  It's really not all that surprising.

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Because they would rather capitulate to Bush.