Washington ? In a pre-emptive strike before President Bush’s State of the Union address, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called on the administration Monday to outline an exit strategy for Iraq while his House counterpart vowed lasting opposition to Social Security benefit cuts.

Reid, D-Nevada, also said it would be a mistake to set a deadline for the withdrawal of American forces. “That’s not a wise decision because it only empowers those who don’t want us there,” he said in an appearance with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

In remarks at the National Press Club, Reid said that Sunday’s elections in Iraq marked “a first step in helping figure out a way that the U.S. can get out of Iraq … We have to figure out a way to remove ourselves from there with dignity.”

Pelosi spoke dismissively of the reception Bush is likely to receive from GOP lawmakers on Wednesday night in the first State of the Union address of his second term. “You really don’t have to have communication skills if you have a couple of hundred people who will jump to their feet when you recite the ABCs,” she said.

Reid, in his job for only a few weeks, credited Bush for Inaugural Day remarks about spreading freedom and democracy across the globe. “But there is a gap between this president’s words and his deeds,” he said. “…There is a gap between saying we are a global leader and standing on the sidelines as new international institutions and alliances take shape without us.”

Reid’s assessment of Bush’s foreign policy represented some of the most biting remarks by a senior Democratic leader since the president won re-election last November. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry frequently criticized the president’s handling of the war on terror and foreign policy.

For her part, Pelosi largely restated criticism of Bush’s plans for Social Security.

Bush has called on Congress to pass legislation this year that will make Social Security permanently solvent. At the same time, he wants younger workers to have the option of diverting a portion of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts. As part of those recommendations, some administration officials have said the president may call for future retirees to receive smaller starting benefits.

Pelosi said the reduction could amount to 40 percent, and added, “Any cut is unacceptable, but a cut of that magnitude is unconscionable.” She also said Democrats will insist that Social Security legislation not add to the deficit, and remain fair to the middle class.