Bush Continues Social Security Campaign

What's more, Kohut's latest poll suggested that Bush's association with the issue is costing both him and his proposals. Only 29 percent of Americans approved of the president's handling of Social Security, and Bush's overall job approval rating fell to an anemic 43 percent.

The poll released Thursday indicated that most Americans accept Bush's proposed cuts in future benefit increases -- until they learn that it is his plan. Under the progressive indexing proposal, advanced by Pozen and adopted by Bush last month, Social Security's long-term finances would be bolstered by ratcheting back the programmed growth of benefits for everyone but the poorest Americans, whose checks would continue to rise as planned. Middle- and upper-income recipients would still receive more than now, but not as much as promised.

In the Pew survey, 53 percent endorsed the idea while 36 percent opposed it, with greater support among Democrats than among Republicans. But when Pew changed the question to add the phrase "George W. Bush has proposed . . .," overall support fell to 45 percent and opposition grew to 43 percent. "Bush is a drag on the popularity of his own Social Security indexing plan," Kohut said.

Bush ignores the bad news and keeps hopping across the country on Air Force One, betraying no fear of failure. "I think we're going to get something done," he said Thursday. "I really do. I think the American people understand we've got a problem."

For his trip to Milwaukee, he tried to focus on younger workers who would be most affected by his plan, visiting the office of a Web site called OnMilwaukee.com where Andrea Marton, 23, told him she was "all for the Social Security reform," adding, "I think it's awesome."

Bush seemed to get in the spirit of things. At the later art museum forum, another young woman, Christy Paavola, 22, mentioned that she wanted to teach in a Lutheran school. "Awesome," he replied.

Still, the half-empty press charter and filing center Thursday spoke to the dwindling news media interest. None of the networks sent its regular White House correspondent. USA Today, the Washington Times and other papers that usually cover presidential trips saw no reason to cover this one. Even some White House aides weary of the barnstorming privately roll their eyes and groan at the notion of yet another Social Security trip.

Bush, himself, seemed to recognize that this was not going to lead the nightly news. "Look at it this way," he told the local crowd proud of its museum. "It's a chance to show it off for the world -- to the extent the world is watching C-SPAN."