Social Security Battle Looks More Like a Ballet

"Things are looking fairly bright for candidates that favor individual accounts, which is somewhat of a recent change," said Michael Tanner, a Social Security specialist at the Cato Institute, a right-leaning think tank. "Republicans got tied up for weeks over the 'P' word, but now they've figured out how to respond." Tanner pointed to Elizabeth Dole, whose North Carolina Senate campaign includes waving around a blank sheet of paper and saying it's the Democrats' plan for Social Security.

While reform may be years away regardless of the outcome of the election, Bush is unlikely to drop the issue. "President Bush is clearly very tenacious when he gets the bit between his teeth," said Aaron. "I'd be very surprised if the administration says that they're going on to other things."