WASHINGTON – President Bush signaled Thursday he is not ready yet to reveal how he would fix Social Security’s looming insolvency, saying he has to first persuade people there is a problem.

“I got a lot more time to tell people that there is a problem,” Bush said in a speech to newspaper editors.

The president also exhorted Congress to “get off the dime” and pass a comprehensive energy plan.

Bush spoke to the American Society of Newspaper Editors after a Republican lawmaker called him to disclose precisely how he would fix the retirement program’s inevitable insolvency problem.

Bush said that some members of Congress would rather not tackle Social Security because it is a politically sensitive subject. He said the political consequences would be worse if lawmakers failed to address the problem.