President Calls in Mother for Support

The 79-year-old first mother said she was worried about what Social Security might mean for future Bushes if the president's plans were not adopted.

"I'm here because your father and I have 17 grandchildren," she said. "And we want to know, is someone going to do something about it?"

Joking that he had inherited his father's eyes but his mother's mouth, the president assured her that he would remain as stubborn as he was raised to be as he tried to persuade a skeptical Congress to let younger workers divert a portion of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts.

"You'll see," he said. "I think you'll see by the time this is over that there is an interest and a desire, a willingness to take on a tough issue, just like you taught me."

The mother-son duo engaged in the kind of banter about their relationship that had been a staple of Bush political speeches -- using the mother's no-nonsense approach to remind audiences of the stubborn quality that made the president popular with supporters. That headstrong behavior, she said, was evident early in his childhood.

"So, now you can see where the president's tenaciousness comes from -- which people also seem to admire so much," she said. "It's what you want in a president; it's not what you want in a 6-year-old."

The president also secured the help of his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose popularity in this senior-rich state could help reverse the growing unrest among retirees about the White House proposal. The brothers appeared together Friday morning in Pensacola.

The family bonding was the latest example of how the Bush brothers' political lives had grown increasingly intertwined.

This week the president entered the debate over the Florida right-to-die case of Terri Schiavo, which has pitted state courts and doctors who wish to let her die against Gov. Bush and religious conservatives who view Schiavo's fate as a parallel to the abortion debate. The governor won praise from conservatives for pushing through a law in 2003 designed to overrule court rulings that would allow Schiavo to die. Terri's Law later was ruled unconstitutional by Florida's Supreme Court.