We've sung the sad song of Secretary Paulson before. At a Washington press briefing yesterday, he confessed, referring to Social Security reform: I'm getting a little bit tired of playing solitaire... I'm less optimistic now than I was several months ago... When I'm talking alone, there's no one that really pushes back hard. Is he really talking to himself now? Paulson may have thought he had negotiated a free policy hand for himself as Treasury Secretary, turning down earlier offers for the position before apparently getting assurances from President Bush that the post, hitherto seen as subordinated by the White House, would have "the proper kind of stature." One idea for the Secretary: get a dog. Two policy suggestions for him: get rid of the non-starter albatross that makes bipartisan reform talks impossible -- putting some of taxpayers Social Security contributions into private accounts. And: do the nation a favor by directing attention toward Medicare (projected insolvency date: 2019), not Social Security (projected insolvency date: 2041) -- that is what is driving up the costs of entitlements. You'll probably find more people willing to talk to you. And not just because you have a dog.