President Bush this week appeared to back off from making Social Security reform a top priority. Restraining federal spending, paying for an ongoing war in Iraq and rebuilding the Gulf Coast are more pressing issues, he said.

Bush said he would release a longer list of priorities during his State of the Union address in January. “But right now, let’s just get the business of the Congress done,” he said.

Social Security reform was once his top second-term domestic priority. But the issue has been overtaken by other matters — and its failure to resonate with voters.