The Democratic Congress is poised to heed President Bush’s call to help save the economy, but may not give him much else.

In a State of the Union speech that recycled many past initiatives, the lame duck called again for immigration reform, an end to lawmakers’ pet projects, control of Social Security and making tax cuts permanent.

Democrats have rejected many of the same Bush initiatives before.

In a sign that the dominant political battles will not be in Congress, many in the House chamber kept an eye not on Bush’s speech but on Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, who hours earlier had endorsed Obama over Clinton, reached out to shake Clinton’s hand when she approached.

Delivering the televised Democratic response, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius - who is considered a possible running mate for Clinton or Obama - urged Bush to work with a Congress controlled by her party.

“The last five years have cost us dearly — in lives lost, in thousands of wounded warriors whose futures may never be the same, in challenges not met here at home because our resources were committed elsewhere,” she said. “America’s foreign policy has left us with  more enemies.”

The president pushed hard for “a robust growth package” to jump-start the economy, asking Democrats to avoid the temptation “to load up the bill.”

Democrats already were planning to expand the stimulus plan negotiated by Bush and House leaders from both parties, to include tax rebates for senior citizens and an extension of unemployment benefits.

The president warned, as he has repeatedly, that pulling Americans out of Iraq too soon would aid al-Qaida and undermine Iraq’s government.

“Members of Congress: Having come so far and achieved so much, we must not allow this to happen,” the president said.

George W. Bush is likely to keep winning that one.

Democrats have tried time and again to set a timetable for withdrawal from the Iraq war, but lack the votes.

Congress has ignored Bush’s proposals to deal with millions of illegal immigrants and to control Social Security spending.

“I ask members of Congress to offer proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs,” Bush said.

Congress won’t touch Social Security in an election year, and immigration agreement would not involve comprehensive reform.

Illegal immigration “must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals,” Bush said. That line, while not proposing a solution, was applauded on both sides of the aisle.

The president urged Congress to continue the No Child Left Behind Act, saying, “no one can deny its results.”

Republicans enthusiastically applauded. Several Democrats, who disagree, could be heard laughing at Bush’s conclusion.