It seems opponents of President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security are finally getting their act together. As Jeffrey H. Birnbaum reports on the front page of tomorrow's Washington Post, the AARP has amped up its ad drive to protect FDR's legacy.

In the punch-for-punch debate over Social Security, AARP is working hard to keep the White House on the ropes.

When President Bush arrives in Iowa today to talk up his private-accounts proposal, the senior citizens group plans to counter him with two news conferences, the release of a national poll, full-page newspaper advertisements and commercials on radio and television.

Over this week and last, AARP, the nation's largest lobby, will have spent more than $5 million on ads attacking the president's Social Security plan -- nearly three times as much as all the supporters of his proposal put together. That's just for starters.

Every state that has a swing-vote senator will have AARP forums, which have been drawing about 300 people each. And every time a member of Congress holds a town meeting, AARP volunteers are dispatched there to protest the president's plan for individual accounts.

"We're going to do this as long as it takes," said William D. Novelli, AARP's chief executive. "We will put just about everything we have into it."

Birnbaum, one of the finest reporters in the business, has a lot of interesting things to say in the article, so read on if you're interested. For now, I'd point you to the other major development in the the Social Security debate. The Hill's Bob Cusack has the scoop of the day: "Dems craft their own plan."

After months of criticizing President Bush on his Social Security reform plan, congressional Democrats are crafting their own retirement savings plan that does not call for any change to the entitlement system.

The Democrats’ move signals a shift in their strategy on Social Security. Until now, the opposition party has opted to lambaste Bush while declining to reveal its own ideas for encouraging saving.

Democratic senators on the Finance Committee this week quietly floated a document titled “Savings Options,” which sources say is designed to as a counter to Bush’s plan for personal accounts in Social Security. The document, obtained by The Hill, details several legislative possibilities, including a mandate on employers to provide payroll-deduction savings options for all employees.

It also tackles low-income incentives for saving by setting up accounts at birth in which the government would deposit $500 for each newborn and $1,000 for families with below-average incomes. The accounts would allow parents to contribute more money until the child turns 18, “with a government match for contributions from lower-income parents.” [emphasis added]

The contrast could not be better. Bush and the Republican Congress call for a plan to "fix" Social Security by partially privatizing it -- a move that would hasten the program's insolvency. The Democratic plan would fix Social Security without significant changes. Which plan do you think the American people support? I'll give you a hint.