Bush gets intergenerational support

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Four grandpas and their grandkids joined President Bush on Thursday in making his case that Social Security was on wobbly footing and private investment accounts would help provide a safety net for future retirees.

The president, on a two-state swing through the South to pitch his plan for the accounts, is trying to ease anxiety among retirees and give political cover to Republican lawmakers facing voters in midterm elections.

Bush repeatedly has reassured the 55-and-over set that the Social Security checks they receive, or soon will get, won't be touched. Still, seniors — a group that votes in greater numbers than the nation's youth — are wary about what will happen to the 70-year-old government retirement system if lawmakers tinker with it.

To address that, Bush said: "More and more grandfathers are asking the president 'How about my granddaughter? I understand I'm safe, what are you going to do about her?"'

On cue, Larry Dean, a self-employed online bookseller, who was joined by his granddaughter, Rebecca 'Bee' Dean, a student at the University of Louisville, said, "Call me a Pollyanna, but I have no fear that I will never be able to draw it.

"But I do have fears for my granddaughter, and all of my grandchildren, and even my children your age," he joked to the 58-year-old president.

Public support for Bush's private accounts has been lukewarm.

Outside a downtown auditorium where Bush spoke, protesters waved signs and shouted slogans denouncing his plan. "No more lies, don't privatize," shouted some of the demonstrators. Some held signs that read "Hands off my Social Security."

Inside, opponents interrupt- ed the president four times. Each time, they were drowned out by Bush or supporters in the crowd. "There are different points of view on the issue," Bush conceded.

Facing an uphill battle in getting Social Security changes passed, Republicans in Congress recently have begun to emphasize the solvency problems of Social Security over the controversial private retirement accounts.

On his road trip, Bush did, too. But while he is focusing on solvency, the president is not letting up on his push for private accounts.