President Bush vowed today to press ahead with his campaign to overhaul the Social Security system despite signs of weak public support for the idea, and he gave no indication of willingness to accede to Democrats' demands that he drop the idea of creating private retirement accounts.
In a news conference at the White House, Bush defended his flurry of presidential trips around the country to promote his ideas for Social Security. "I believe we are making progress" in convincing Americans that the proposals will help younger workers while not harming older ones or retirees, he said.
"I'm making the case to the people and will continue to do so," Bush said in his opening remarks. He urged members of Congress to talk to their constituents, "not only about the problem but about solutions," and to help come up with ways to "permanently fix Social Security" rather than apply "a Band-Aid solution."
Bush said, "I think the voters will appreciate people who come up with constructive suggestions, not statements merely in opposition of some ideas." He added that "I'm actually enjoying myself on these trips," and pledged, "I will continue to talk about Social Security for the next period of time."
The reaffirmation of his goals came after a new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed weakening public support for Bush's approach. Only 35 percent of Americans now approve of Bush's handling of the Social Security issue, down from 38 percent in mid-December, the poll showed. In addition, 58 percent of those polled in the latest survey, conducted March 10-13, said the more they hear about Bush's plan, the less they like it.
Bush stressed in the news conference, however, that he has "laid out principles" on Social Security overhaul, rather than a detailed plan, because he wants the Congress to come up with ideas and work with the administration to implement them. And he said his proposal for personal retirement accounts is not the only solution to the problem of the system's insolvency over the long term.
"Personal accounts do not solve the issue," Bush said. "Personal accounts will make sure that individual workers get a better deal with whatever emerges as a Social Security solution."
He said, "It's very important for people to understand that the permanent solution will require Congress and the administration working together on a variety of different possibilities."
Asked about Democrats' insistence that Bush spell out his plan, Bush indicated that he was concerned that the "first bill on the Hill always is dead on arrival." He said, "I'm not interested in playing political games. I'm interested in working with members of both political parties."
When Bush was later asked if he would be willing to drop personal accounts to get a Social Security overhaul bill through Congress, he reiterated his support for the accounts and said he has seen polls showing that Americans "like the idea."
The Washington Post-ABC poll showed a majority of Americans, by 56 percent to 41 percent, support the idea of allowing people to invest some of their Social Security contributions in the stock market, even though a majority opposes Bush's proposals on Social Security.
Bush said he wants a solution "as quickly as possible, whatever that means."
"The longer we wait, the more difficult it is to solve the problem," Bush said. "Now's the time to get this solved."
Bush also said in the news conference that he was pleased with what he called "progress" by Iraqis in defending themselves against insurgents and in establishing a new National Assembly, or parliament, following elections in January.
