WASHINGTON - Consigned by the voters to another season out of power, Democrats are eager to lay down markers for President Bush and congressional Republicans on Iraq, Social Security and more at the same time they try to absorb the lessons of last fall's elections.
It's a challenge complicated by Republican insistence on stirring echoes of the 2004 campaign at every turn, labeling President Bush's critics as obstructionists lacking alternative proposals.
"I promise they'll hear us across the aisle. I promise they'll hear us down" at the White House, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada assured his rank and file on the day he was chosen Democratic leader. In the weeks since, he, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and others have hastened to fulfill that pledge.
"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" in Iraq, Reid said Monday in what his office called a "pre-buttal" to Bush's Wednesday night State of the Union speech.
Reid cautioned against setting a deadline for a troop withdrawal, saying that would empower "those who don't want us there."
That placed him in conflict with other voices in his own party.
Two dozen House Democrats recently signed on to legislation calling for Bush to develop a plan for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a frequent and scathing critic of Bush's war policy, offered a third variation on the theme. Bush should use Iraq's national elections as the moment to "immediately announce his intention to negotiate a timetable for a drawdown of American combat forces with the new Iraqi Government," he said in advance of Sunday's balloting. At least 12,000 American troops and probably more should leave at once to send a stronger signal, Kennedy added.
Other Democrats used last week's confirmation vote on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to outline their differences with the administration.
Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., more blunt than most, accused administration officials of "lying to Congress, lying to our committees, lying to the American people" in the run-up to the war.
Rice cruised to confirmation by a lopsided margin of 85-13. Democrats pointed out it was the largest number of votes cast in opposition to a nominee to head the State Department since 1825.
Democrats hope for stronger solidarity when Alberto Gonzales' nomination as attorney general comes to a vote. "It's hard to be a straight shooter when you're a blind loyalist," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week, as Bush's longtime legal adviser's nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote.
Several Democrats said Gonzales failed to give full answers to their questions about his role in crafting administration policies relating to questioning of U.S.-held prisoners in the war on terror.
Earlier, Schumer, at least, had seemed less-then-certain to oppose Gonzales' nomination.
"There's a lower standard, frankly, for attorney general than for judge, because you give the president who he wants," he said. That seemed a signal that controversy over Cabinet appointments was prelude to the battle Bush can expect if he submits nominations for the federal courts - especially the Supreme Court - that Democrats find too conservative.
Outside Congress, Democrats are involved in an election to pick their next chairman, each contender pledging to lead the party back to power. "Strengthening the state parties is a central part of our plan to make the Democratic Party competitive in every race, in every district, in every state and territory," former presidential contender Howard Dean said as he sought support during the day.
For his part, Reid has said Democrats must learn to appeal to rural voters in states like his own. Other Democrats are talking about finding ways to attract religious voters, and former Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana, an abortion opponent, is among Dean's challengers.
Just before Bush's State of the Union address, Democrats seemed united in their opposition to his plans for Social Security. The president wants voluntary personal accounts for future retirees to be included in any legislation that puts the program on a permanently stable financial footing.
"Social Security does face problems down the road," Pelosi said Monday in her joint appearance with Reid. She added, though, "We can solve the long-term challenge without dismantling Social Security, and without allowing this administration's false declaration of a crisis to justify a privatization that is unnecessary, unaffordable and unwise."
Republicans leaders countered that argument in advance. "We need to modernize the system. If we don't, adequate benefits will not be there for the next generation," reads a sample speech that the GOP rank and file was handed as part of a larger briefing book on the issue.
For their thoughts, Reid and Pelosi drew fire from the Republican National Committee reminiscent of last year's campaign.
Their "obstructionist remarks today were full of pessimism and personal attacks but lacked any vision for winning the war on terror or preserving Social Security for future generations," said RNC spokesman Brian Jones.