But today, leading Democrats stepped up their criticism of the plan.

That prospect has led Democrats on the left, right and center to search for a new appeal to the voters.

There, leading Democrats said they detected a small but steady erosion of conservative support for the measure.

The oratory does not necessarily lead Republicans and Democrats to the same places.

Democrats led by John Kerry argue that the modest job growth of the last year has been concentrated in bad jobs.

And that has led Democrats to charge that Republicans are putting special interests ahead of the common good.

Disgust with the nominating process led Democrats to create a commission that would improve the conditions of how nominees were selected.

Privately, and sometimes publicly, leading Democrats will admit that the party's shrinking influence has its roots in the most basic problem of "message."

This led Democrats to label the program a "privatization" of Social Security.

Politically, he realized that fiscal conservatism enjoyed a strong wide base of support among voters, leading Democrats, and businessmen.