Bush stumps for Social Security changes

On one side outside a performing arts center in Raleigh, men sold inauguration bears and Bush political buttons. On the other side, a boisterous group of protesters waved neon yellow, commercially made signs reading, ''Hands off my Social Security."

A homemade sign said ''Mr. Bush, where is my invitation to the Raleigh town hall meeting?" The message, scrawled next to a sad face, was a critique of the friendly crowds assembled for the events. Bush received plenty of praise from the audience inside. One man thanked Bush for bringing faith back to the White House; a standing ovation followed.

Bush is trying to mobilize support for his efforts to change Social Security, in addition to reassuring workers older than 55 that their benefits will not change under his proposal.

He tried to ease partisan arguments over the idea and draw support from moderate Democrats and Republicans, including some worried that they will lose voters' support in the 2006 midterm elections.

''This is not a political issue," Bush said. ''This is policy at its most pure. . . . The best way to deal with it is for there to be an honest discussion about different solutions without fear of political reprisal."

Still, all the stops on his swing through the nation have political ramifications for his proposal.

His trips earlier in the month to Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Florida were designed to focus on moderate Democratic senators wary of his idea.

Bush went to North Carolina partly because Senator Elizabeth Dole, a Republican, embraces Social Security overhaul so much that she pitched personal retirement accounts in her 2002 campaign. When her opponent in the campaign, Erskine Bowles, criticized her proposal during the campaign, she held up a blank sheet of paper to represent his lack of a plan.

During a recent political retreat, Senate and House Republicans cited Dole as an example of a legislator who could support personal accounts and survive the next election.

Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, supports the idea and says he would run on the issue in 2006. But Senator Arlen Specter, also a Pennsylvania Republican, opposes cuts in Social Security benefits to future retirees -- a consequence of Bush's plan and any comprehensive effort to solve Social Security's long-term solvency.

''Every year from 2018 to when the system goes broke in 2042, the cash deficits to meet promises increase," Bush said. ''That says to me we've got a problem."