On foreign policy, Bush made plain his unhappiness with Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. "We didn't appreciate that," he said, "But we made ourselves clear." The two men are scheduled to meet in Moscow early next month.

Bush said he is pressing Iraq's incoming prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, to refrain from tinkering with the structure of the Iraqi security force that the U.S. military is creating and training. Bush called that possibility "one of the real dangers" as Iraq transitions to an independent democracy.

On another sensitive subject, Bush said he wanted to reach a diplomatic solution in six-nation talks that would pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. While the United States has raised the possibility to taking the issue to the United Nations, Bush said that would require a consensus, noting that some parties in the talks with North Korea have the ability to veto any U.N. resolution. "And what we want to do is to work with our allies on this issue and develop a consensus, a common approach, to the consequences of (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Il," he said.

The president offered little in the way of details on what he'd like to see in Social Security legislation, although he said he was still insisting on creation of voluntary personal accounts for younger workers as part of a measure to ensure permanent financial solvency for the venerable Depression-era program.

The president sought to reassure lower-income Americans they had nothing to fear from an overhaul of the program.

As for future retirees with higher lifetime earnings, Bush said they should be able to "count on a benefit equal to or higher than today's seniors." That formula left open the possibility that guaranteed benefits for middle and upper income seniors could be cut in later years to bring Social Security's finances into balance.

The president is nearing the end of a 60-day nationwide sales campaign for his Social Security proposals. But polls show support for voluntary personal accounts is sagging, Democratic opposition appears unshakable and some Republicans are skittish, fearing a political backlash in 2006.

"The money from a voluntary personal retirement account would supplement the check one receives from Social Security," Bush said. He added that personal accounts would also leave retirees with nest eggs that can be passed along in the future, but that was another case in which he omitted key details.

Administration officials have told Republicans in Congress that lower-income workers who retire with personal accounts would be required to purchase annuitites to guarantee themselves a lifetime benefit. In some cases, the cost of the annuity would deplete their personal accounts, leaving nothing to be inherited.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has said he intends to present legislation to the panel this summer.