PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- President George W. Bush brought his push for changes to the Social Security system to New Hampshire Wednesday.

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Janet Wu Reports On Bush

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that it had the look and feel of a whistle-stop appearance and, once again, the Granite State proved to be a tough sell for the president.

Bush played to a much smaller audience than he had hoped. About 2,000 tickets were handed out, and less than half showed up at the Pease Air Force Base hanger. The president's lobbying effort included a carrot.

"It makes sense for younger workers to hold their own account because when they pass on, they can leave their own assets to whomever they choose," Bush said. "In 2042 this system goes broke. Those are the facts. No matter what the rhetoric might be, nothing changes for people who've retired or are near retirement."

The president has his work cut out for him. While enjoying a 52 percent favorability rating in New Hampshire after losing the Granite State last November, Bush struggles to convince voters that younger people should put some of their retirement money into private accounts instead of Social Security.

A new polls shows among New Hampshire residents, 54 percent say the plan is a bad idea, 32 percent call it a good idea and 14 percent are undecided.

"It's not split on partisan lines. It's split on age lines. Younger people are much more amenable to the idea of private accounts. Older people think they are a bad idea." University of New Hampshire Survey Center spokesman Andrew Smith said. "One of the things about Social Security, and this is one of the reasons Bush is in the state, is that a lot of people don't understand it."