SOUTH BEND, Ind., March 4 -- With a jab at a recalcitrant Congress, President Bush returned to the road Friday to open a two-month campaign to rally Americans behind his Social Security plan, as Democrats and interest groups launched a counter program of protests, testimonials and advertising.
The spectacle of competing public demonstrations, sometimes just a few hundred yards apart, bore all the hallmarks of an election campaign in the final weeks before voting. The two political parties and their allies are returning to the trail just four months after Bush won a second term, in this case in a furious battle over the future of the nation's most enduring social welfare program.
Bush, resuming his travels after two weeks in search of public support for his plan, hit two states Friday and scheduled a two-day, four-state swing next week as part of an intensified drive to stage 60 events by administration officials in 60 days. At events here and in New Jersey, he conducted forums before screened audiences of cheering supporters beneath giant campaign-style banners. Selected panelists hailed his leadership from the stage, and young fans chanted his name from the hall.
Democrats responded with their own "Fix It, Don't Nix It" swing while other Bush opponents staged news conferences, placed newspaper ads and commentaries, and aired radio commercials targeting the two House Republicans who hosted the president Friday. Outside Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame, about 100 protesters greeted Bush's motorcade with signs such as "Social Security Another Big Fat Lie."
The accelerated public efforts, bankrolled by millions of dollars from business, labor and other special interests, underscored the rising stakes as Bush gambles much of his second-term political capital on his proposal to incorporate personal investment accounts into the Social Security system.
With congressional Democrats largely unified against the idea, and many Republicans ambivalent, Bush is counting on the presidential megaphone to shift momentum. "Now is the time to get rid of all that deadlock in Washington," he said in New Jersey.
Bush vowed to continue traveling until he wins enough converts. "I'm going to a lot of places. I'm not going to go away on this issue, because it's vital."
At both stops, he presented his case that without change, Social Security "goes broke" in 2042 and that any long-term plan should allow younger workers to invest part of their Social Security taxes in stocks and bonds. Behind him were television-friendly charts showing the system's financial problems as more baby boomers retire.
The events sometimes took on a pep-rally feel. One member of the president's assembled panel of citizens on stage in Indiana triggered a standing ovation when he lavishly praised Bush's leadership. Other panelists were so intent on lauding him that Bush felt the need to prod them to talk about Social Security.
Senate Democrats embarked on a two-day, four-city tour led by Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and joined at one stop by Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and John F. Kerry (Mass.), among others. At their forums, the Democrats said Bush's plan would not address the system's underlying problems but would drive up national debt.
Reid said Democrats are open to a bipartisan solution.
"But instead of talking about ways to save Social Security," he said, "this time Republicans are talking about a privatization plan that cuts benefits, adds trillions in debt and does nothing to strengthen the program. That is unacceptable, and the American people are rejecting that approach."
Lobbying groups on both sides swarmed around the president's speeches, and plan extensive activities wherever he goes over the next 60 days. In Indiana, the Business Roundtable recruited dozens of Bush supporters carrying "Fix Social Security Now!" signs and buttons. Former representative J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), now a lobbyist, gave an interview on Indiana Network talk radio.
In New Jersey, the same group turned out 60 supporters at the president's speech and placed an opinion piece favoring private accounts in the Newark Star-Ledger by Sam Beard, a Democrat on the organization's board. Progress for America, a pro-Bush group, arranged for radio stations in the two states to interview experts and politicians who favor Bush's initiative.
To counter that, AARP, the major seniors organization, bought full-page newspaper ads in New Jersey and Indiana warning that Bush's plan would turn the program into "Social Insecurity." AARP also held news conferences with local leaders to explain its objection.
These groups intend to shadow Bush everywhere he speaks. AARP will continue to buy newspaper ads in cities he visits. A labor-linked group called Americans United to Protect Social Security has launched "60 Faces over 60 Days: The Real Faces of Social Security" -- a program featuring personal stories of 60 people to highlight what it perceives as the dangers of Bush's plan.
The pro-Bush forces will help him on the road. "Wherever the president goes, that's where we will try to be," said John J. Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable. "His presence in any town gives us an unparalleled opportunity to get our message out."
Birnbaum reported from Washington.
