Amid political fireworks over Medicare, both President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans have left themselves room to negotiate on another thorny problem: What to do about Social Security.

The question is whether partisan bickering, combined with divisions within each party, will get in the way.

A combination of factors augur for a deal. Neither Mr. Obama nor Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, offered any specific ideas for fixing Social Security in their budget plans this month. Unlike proposals for Medicare, taxes and spending, there was nothing to be attacked by the either party. In Washington's sometimes twisted logic, not offering ideas can make a deal more, not less, likely.

In addition, Mr. Ryan appears to have put aside the controversial Bush-era idea of diverting Social Security funds into private accounts. A Ryan aide said late last week the congressman is comfortable with a solution that does not include privatization.

"The dialogue has not been poisoned with someone coming out with a plan and the other side attacking," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Or, as former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle put it: "The less the rhetorical investment, the greater the potential for compromise."