President Bush said yesterday that U.S. coalition partners are anxious to leave Iraq, but not before the new government can defend itself, brushing aside reports that Italy plans to begin withdrawing its 3,000 troops in six months.
"I think what you are going to find is that counties will be willing [and] anxious to get out when Iraqis have got the capacity to defend themselves," Bush said at a morning news conference.
 
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Even though Ukraine, Italy and others have signaled plans to pull out troops this year, the president said the coalition "has been buoyed" by the Iraqi elections and efforts to create a new, democratically elected government. Bush said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi assured him yesterday that the 3,000 troops will not be withdrawn until Iraq's military is sufficiently staffed and trained.
In a wide-ranging 48-minute meeting with reporters in the White House press room, Bush renewed his call for democracy in Iran, Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East, and he prodded skeptical lawmakers to quickly devise a plan to restructure Social Security that features private retirement accounts.
The president waded deeper into congressional politics, offering a resounding vote of confidence in embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), pressuring Senate Democrats to allow votes on his judicial nominees and saying that this week's California court decision striking down bans on same-sex marriage "strengthened" his support for a constitutional amendment outlawing such marriages. "Court rulings are verifying why I took the position I took, and that is, I don't believe judges ought to be deciding" the definition of marriage, he said.
Bush expressed concern about the rising cost of oil and gasoline, reaffirmed his support for the death penalty and called on Major League Baseball to punish those who violate a stricter testing policy on steroids and other performance-enhancing substances. But the president, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, declined to say whether Congress should subpoena players during spring training.
This was the fifth news conference Bush has held since winning reelection, a dramatic change from his first term, when he rarely met with the White House press corps and was criticized for ducking tough questions about the Iraq war. White House aides said signs of democratic change in the Middle East and an improving employment picture at home are validations of the president's policies. They said he is eager to talk about the unfolding events.
In keeping with the second-term focus of the White House, Bush spent most of the time promoting his plan to restructure the 70-year-old Social Security program and to allow workers younger than 55 to voluntarily divert 4 percent of their taxable income into private investment accounts. Despite Democratic demands that he be more specific, Bush said he has no plans to detail the tax increases, benefit cuts or deficit spending that White House officials privately say would be needed to pay for the private accounts and ensure the long-term stability of Social Security.
"The first bill on the Hill always is dead on arrival," Bush said. "I'm interested in coming up with a permanent solution. I'm not interested in playing political games." He said members of Congress should immediately begin drafting a package.
Bush, for the first time, highlighted one possible proposal for cutting benefits that is popular inside the White House: "progressive indexing." The president talked up a plan by Robert Pozen, a former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments who met with a top White House official this week. Pozen's proposal would reduce benefits the most for those making more than $113,000. Under this plan, which was featured this week on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, workers earning $25,000 to $113,000 would see a reduction, too, albeit a smaller one, while those earning the least would see no reduction at all.
Bush did not demand that personal accounts be included in a final deal. "Personal accounts do not solve the issue," he said. "But personal accounts will make sure that individual workers get a better deal with whatever emerges as a Social Security solution."
On Iran, Bush declined to set a deadline for Tehran to accept a deal to halt its uranium-enrichment program in exchange for economic benefits. He said the United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to seek sanctions against Iran if it rejects the offer, but he suggested that will not happen anytime soon. "There's a certain patience required in order to achieve a diplomatic objective," he said.
As for Iraq, the president would not set a timetable for the return of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops serving there, despite calls from some lawmakers for a firm date. Bush said the coalition is not crumbling, though 14 countries have dropped out of an alliance that was once 38 nations strong.
Nearly two years after the invasion of Iraq, Bush said that the first meeting of Iraq's national assembly Tuesday was a "bright moment" and that the Palestinian elections, the demands of the Lebanese people for Syria to withdraw its troops, and the signals of reform from Egypt and Saudi Arabia will spur more change in the Middle East. "I believe those examples will serve as examples for others over time," he said. "And that will lead to more peace, and that's what we want."
Asked whether he felt a sense of vindication about the turn of events, Bush said: "I just don't worry about vindication or standing. . . . You've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis. You don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, 'How do you think my standing will be?' "
