I’m not sure what’s scarier, as outlined in this Jeff Birnbaum piece. Having the AARP oppose you:

“When President Bush arrives in Iowa today to talk up his private-accounts proposal, the senior citizens group plans to counter him with two news conferences, the release of a national poll, full-page newspaper advertisements and commercials on radio and television.

Over this week and last, AARP, the nation’s largest lobby, will have spent more than $5 million on ads attacking the president’s Social Security plan — nearly three times as much as all the supporters of his proposal put together. That’s just for starters.”

Or having it cooperate with you, in a deal that could be terrible:

“Yet behind the scenes, Novelli and his staff have been consulting with Bush aides Karl Rove and Allan Hubbard about finding common ground, and talking with congressional leaders of both parties….

AARP isn’t averse to changing Social Security; it merely disapproves of Bush’s plan on private accounts. AARP would add such accounts as a supplement to Social Security and rejects the idea of putting the program’s basic guaranteed benefit at risk with market investments. It also would be willing to fiddle with other aspects of the program (such as who gets taxed) to make sure it remains solvent in the long term.”