Bush says he's working hard on economic turmoil
WASHINGTON -- With the financial markets in turmoil, President Bush said Thursday that he shares Americans' concerns and the government will act aggressively to avert a deepening crisis.
Bush was supposed to spend the day in Alabama and Florida raising money for Republicans and talking energy policy. But he canceled the trip to focus on what is unfolding as the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
Aiming to be reassuring and to show that he is working on the problem, he said the markets are adjusting to the "extraordinary measures" that have been taken in recent days by the federal government.
"The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence," Bush said in two minutes of remarks delivered outside the Oval Office.
He did not specify what actions would be taken. The president was to meet with economic advisers over much of the day, and was seeing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the White House later Thursday.
"Our financial markets continue to deal with serious challenges," he said. "As our recent actions demonstrate, my administration is focused on meeting these challenges."
The market conditions have put the White House into crisis mode. But Bush has behaved very differently than in previous crises -- for instance around the start of the Iraq war, of after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 or last month's invasion by Russia of tiny neighbor Georgia. In those cases, Bush would talk nearly every day on the issue. This week, he has been notably silent.
His remarks Thursday were his first since Monday. And he has spurned every attempt by reporters to ask questions about the developments, including again on Thursday. As he finished his very brief statement and turned to walk back into the Oval Office, a reporter asked if he believed the economy was still sound. The president kept walking.
Despite Bush's public stance, the government has taken more and more extensive actions than in decades.
Earlier this month, the administration took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two struggling companies, which were created by Congress to help people afford home loans, account for about $5 trillion in home mortgages, about half the nation's total.
