Democrats challenge Bush on Social Security, Iraq.

By Jill Zuckman, Chicago Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 3--WASHINGTON -- Unwilling to cede the post-State of the Union spotlight, Senate Democrats will take on President Bush Thursday before the granite memorial of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, father of the New Deal and the Social Security system.

As Bush campaigns across the country for his proposal to revamp Social Security, Democrats plan to stand in the cold and excoriate the president, accusing him of dismantling a 70-year-old promise to senior citizens.

In the first two weeks of the president's second term, Democrats have largely thrown away any talk of cooperation. Instead, they are fighting Bush at every turn, opposing his …