His visit may have also been intended to pressure Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, who opposes benefits cuts for future retirees.

Bush's dialogue with his five panelists was more limited. Neither White House sources nor local politicians could say how the group was selected, but they represented a cross-section of the population and included a professor from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an investment counselor, a widow, a mother going through divorce and a young, single professional woman.

Not surprisingly, all unanimously endorsed the retirement account idea as pertinent to their own situations...

Later, he thanked college President Karen Stout for hosting the forum and pledged funding for job-training programs at the community college level. He praised community colleges as ''affordable, flexible and available.''

But despite the friendly crowd that gave him several standing ovations, it was clear both before and after his visit that Bush has some work to do to win public support for his reforms.

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, a Democrat whose 13th District includes the college campus, said in a statement that Bush was trying to scare Americans into believing there is a pending Social Security crisis. Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chairman Marcel Groen in a news release contended Bush's plan is ''the first step in the ultimate destruction of one of the most successful domestic programs in history''...

By Joe McDermott,  The Morning Call, Feb 11, 2005

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