I think this charge is gonna stick partly.. The administration will wind up with a huge expenditure (both credibility and money) and very little political gain to show for it..
The problem is once you introduce part of an entitlement, people will complain cause they're not getting the whole thing. The Republicans should have seen this coming a mile away. Clinton is the one who sprung this trap, but it was Bush who took the bait. Now the Republicans are going to have to take the consequences.
Watch the Dems--they will critize the program on the basis that it costs too much and doesn't deliver enough. So, naturally, they will propose expanding it and claim to have a plan so that it will all cost less. How is this possible? Because all the $$ is going to the evil Drug companies--of course. Unfortunately, many people, especially seniors, will believe them.
Actually the worst damage might come from the MSM telling everybody only the bad news, just like Iraq. I can see seniors being upset over the complex task it was to choose one of the "private" plans instead of having a single, government agency doling out the drugs. BUT, I immediately signed my mother up for this (it was a little complex, even on-line), and "sorry about the US budget" but the savings for her are huge (her total costs will be about $800+ vs. the normal $2000, and every pharmacy around handles her plan. It's like jumpin' in the swimming pool. Once you're submerged the water is warm.
If Bush ever imagined that he was going to get credit for this disaster, he is as stupid as his enemies think.