But over the last week, administration spokesmen have been careful not to rule out talks.

Other administration spokesmen have mentioned two years as the maximum transition period.

It is in changing public attitudes that Administration spokesman say they may have had their greatest successes.

On the contrary, Administration spokesmen expressed their hopes for success and positive results.

"The basic idea is to get more people to do more saving on their own," said an Administration spokesman.

"We didn't want the story the next day to be a parade of dead secretaries," a triumphant Administration spokesman told me.

He told us this was an issue he wanted to link himself to in a strong, positive, public way, not just through Administration spokesmen.

After the Wilkerson attacks, administration spokesmen avoided any official response.

Mark Hatfield, another administration spokesman, said that a system to acknowledge baggage complaints has since been created.

Yet here is a man often referred to as an Administration spokesman trying to sell the idea that "bigger is safer."