They're pissed things went well in Iraq...
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...mocrats_bush_3
Democrats Make Pre-Emptive on Bush Address
Mon Jan 31, 2:28 AM ET Politics - U. S. Congress
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON - One top Democrat in Congress is calling for an exit strategy in Iraq (news - web sites) as another vows lasting opposition to Social Security (news - web sites) benefit cuts — elements of a pre-emptive strike against President Bush (news - web sites) before his midweek State of the Union address.
"The president needs to spell out a real and understandable plan for the unfinished work ahead" in Iraq, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday.
"Most of all, we need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how we can get there; so that we know what we need to do and so that we know when the job is done."
Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California arranged a joint appearance at the National Press Club. Bush is scheduled to step before a far wider audience — a joint session of Congress and a prime time national television audience — on Wednesday night.
Together, Congress' top two Democratic lawmakers sought to lay down markers on issues likely to dominate the congressional agenda this year — Iraq and the broader war on terror, as well as Social Security.
Reid, in his job for only a few weeks, credited Bush for Inaugural Day remarks about spreading freedom and democracy across the globe. "But there is a gap between this president's words and his deeds," he said in his speech text. "... There is a gap between saying we are a global leader and standing on the sidelines as new international institutions and alliances take shape without us."
Reid accused Bush of failing to challenge Saudi Arabia's treatment of dissidents, letting China handle negotiations with North Korea (news - web sites)'s missile-seeking regime, and allowing Europeans to grapple with a threat from Iran.
"It's time that America stood tall again as the real superpower that we are; time that we led the world on dealing with these terrible threats and building a durable peace instead of just hanging back and letting others show the way."
Reid's prepared remarks on Bush's foreign policy were some of the most biting by a senior Democratic leader since the president won re-election last November. At the same time, he stopped short of calling for the troops to come home from Iraq, as some members of the party's rank and file have done in recent days.
For her part, Pelosi largely restated criticism of Bush's plans for Social Security that she and other Democrats have been leveling for days.
"We can solve this long-term challenge without dismantling Social Security and without allowing this administration's false declaration of a crisis justify a privatization plan that is unnecessary," she said in prepared remarks.
Bush has called on Congress to pass legislation this year that will make Social Security permanently solvent. At the same time, he wants younger workers to have the option of diverting a portion of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts. As part of those recommendations, some administration officials have said the president may call for future retirees to receive smaller starting benefits than current law guarantees.
Pelosi said the reduction could amount to 40 percent, and added, "Any cut is unacceptable, but a cut of that magnitude is unconscionable." She also said Democrats will insist that Social Security legislation not add to the deficit, and remain fair to the middle class.
"Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind — Democrats will fight to see Social Security strengthened, not destroyed," Pelosi said.
She said Social Security must be viewed as part of a larger retirement issue, and said the government should expand access to 401(k) accounts and IRAs.
Reid and Pelosi also are scheduled to deliver the Democrats' formal response to Bush's State of the Union address on Wednesday night.
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