Hang it all, Rick Santorum, there can be but one mandate!

Greed is still not entirely "good." The idea of watching out for others is not entirely dead. Selfishness and "I got mine" don't rule at all levels of our society.

Finally, some good news breaking through on Social Security. It seems Sen. Rick Santorum is not having an easy time separating the old from the young on the Social Security "reform" issue:

Pennsylvania shows the challenge Mr. Bush's allies face as they try to neutralize retirees by promising that their benefits will not be affected. Martin Berger, president of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, a union retirees group, said older Americans were a potent political force in Pennsylvania and would not sit out this debate. AARP is also expected to be active in states like Pennsylvania.

"We refuse to accept this concept of 'you got yours, now back off,' " Mr. Berger said. "We built the system. We believe it should be available for our children and grandchildren."

In fact, judging from polls and town meetings, many older Americans still have strong feelings about Social Security and skepticism about relying on the private marketplace for retirement security. And Democrats are appealing to those feelings.

Ms. Schwartz told her audience on Monday that the plan would "really dismantle Social Security as you know it" for children and grandchildren, and would lead to great inequities among the generations. "I'm over 55, I'm going to be O.K.; my two sisters are under 55, they're going to see their benefits cut," she said.

"It's going to be an enormous change for anyone under 55," she added. "You know how important Social Security is, right? And you know how important it is to future retirees as well."

Ms. Schwartz's audience - about 50 retirees showed up despite a messy snowfall the night before - was not a hard sell for the Democratic message. Milton Shapiro, 92, who retired from the greeting card business, said people already had opportunities to save outside Social Security, through 401(k)'s and I.R.A.'s. "Social Security is an insurance plan," Mr. Shapiro said.

After the meeting, Mr. Shapiro said he had written to Mr. Bush to suggest incremental fixes to extend Social Security's solvency while maintaining the traditional program. He got a letter back thanking him for his support. "One of his flunkies wrote it," Mr. Shapiro said with a shrug, adding that he is a devoted Democrat.

In the end, Mr. Santorum said, the people who show up and ask questions at public forums often have an agenda. He said he hoped to sway the quieter people with open minds, especially the young.

"It's really their decision - this is a program for younger workers," Mr. Santorum said. "They should fully participate in the development of this policy."

And while there might be a lot of skepticism among older Americans, he said, "I don't think it's a tough sell for the people who are going to be affected by the change, and that's the most important thing."

"I'm not going to let go of this," he said at the end of the day. "And the president's not either."

Santorum's attitude is no surprise. When the message doesn't work, blame the audience. Nixon appealed to the "silent majority" (until he didn't appeal to them as much as he thought); now Bush wants to appeal to the "silent young people." But the issue then is: who votes? This same article notes that Santorum could face a stiff challenge in 2006. And "young people" still aren't as likely to vote for SS reform, as the older voters are to vote against it.