Washington ? Carefully coached and scripted, Republicans and Democrats from Congress will fan out across the country this week to talk to their constituents about overhauling Social Security.

Republicans will head home armed with advice on how to sell President Bush’s proposal to create new private investment accounts — including which words to use, how to appeal to the young and the old, and suggested answers for likely questions.

Democrats will highlight a new Internet-based calculator to show constituents how much they might lose under Bush’s proposal. They also will pack a “tool kit” of talking points and a script to use when inviting people to town-hall meetings.

These unusual levels of preparation underscore the stakes as Congress takes a weeklong Presidents Day recess to talk to constituents about Social Security, the lawmakers’ first real opportunity since Bush made the issue the domestic centerpiece of his second term.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate finance subcommittee on Social Security and a Bush ally, gave his fellow GOP senators a CD with step-by-step advice for selling Bush’s proposal. It includes a 30-page memo from Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican strategist, with detailed tips on how to make the sale.

For younger Americans, Luntz urged focusing on the threat that doing nothing imperils future benefits, while emphasizing that Bush’s new accounts would let them control their own money.

To older Americans, Luntz suggests stressing that their benefits will be safe but that their grandchildren’s are threatened unless Bush gets his way. “This point, though simple, is extraordinarily powerful, especially with older women.”

Democrats have their own sales props, including a benefits calculator.

The calculator, available online at www.democrats.gov, allows users to compare how much they would receive after retiring, either from the current Social Security system or from a combination of Social Security and private accounts.

Democrats hope it’ll persuade younger Americans that they could lose — and shake their support of private accounts.