Critics say Bush is out of touch on the economy

"I want to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for working over the weekend," Bush said as he met with his economic advisors at the White House. "You've shown the country and the world that the United States is on top of the situation."

Actually, many analysts and critics said, by focusing on Paulson's working hours instead of on the fear gripping Main Street and Wall Street, the president seemed to show just the opposite -- that he has failed to grasp the gravity of the country's economic crisis.

"He has no idea what's going on. Even by his standards, he's wrong," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who said he had been trying to get the president to pay more attention to the economy for more than a year.

Bush's "working over the weekend" line also suggested a comparison to another disaster in which he was accused of acting too slowly: Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, the president was ridiculed for praising FEMA Director Michael D. Brown for doing "a heck of a job" -- even as thousands remained stranded in floodwaters in New Orleans.

It is unclear whether Bush or his administration could have done more, sooner, to address the cascading financial crisis that started with sub-prime mortgage defaults and led to the collapse of Bear Stearns, one of Wall Street's most venerable investment firms.

Economists point out that it is the Federal Reserve, which operates independently of the administration, that is in charge of regulating banks and the monetary system. And it was Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke who led the weekend effort to rescue Bear Stearns.

"Policymakers talk like they have an ability to affect these things, but their ability is very, very limited," said Robert D. Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and the former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. "The Fed is emptying its gun right now. If the markets continue to falter, there is not a heck of a lot policymakers are able to do."

Many of Bush's Republican allies were pointedly silent Monday as the president and Paulson tried to avert a larger financial meltdown. Democrats, on the other hand, pressed their advantage, arguing that the administration is more responsive to a crisis that hits Wall Street than one that hits Main Street.