There is sticker shock. It comes after Iraq. We have a time of war, rising deficits, Medicare and Social Security [shortfalls].

Iraq looks messier and messier. Gasoline prices have soared. The president's controversial plans for overhauling Social Security give Democrats a big cudgel to hammer Republicans among seniors.

We can set aside a surplus to save Social Security or Medicare, or we can pass the burden of the baby boomers retirement off on to our children,

We really need to think about four pillars for retirement. ... The first pillar is Social Security. The second is individual pensions or savings. The third is health insurance, very important. And the fourth, surprisingly, is the continued ability to earn, because many people are going to need to find some way of bringing in earnings after they pass normal retirement age, and we think that that should be more and more emphasized in terms of getting ready for that possibility.

take the surplus and put it into Social Security and pay down the debt. We ought to pay down the debt, and we also ought to make Social Security solvent.

For 70 years, Social Security has never failed to pay a promised benefit to seniors or people with disabilities - it has never been a day late or a dollar short, ... The plan he (Bush) is offering won't even come close to putting the program on solid financial footing.