George W Bush

As signals of a weakening economy grow louder, the Bush administration and congressional Democrats are considering new measures, including a fresh round of tax cuts, designed to stave off recession. But while both sides of Washington's policy debate appear to favor some kind of tax-cut package to spur economic growth, there is little sign that they are near agreement on what kind of cuts should go to whom.

President Bush and Saudi leaders tangled Tuesday over the price of oil, with the president reminding this wealthy desert kingdom that U.S. purchases could fall if the American economy slips and with a Saudi official refusing to commit his country to greater production to reduce costs at the pump. Bush said the price of oil, driven up by growing demand in the United States but an even greater increase in China and India, had become "painful for our consumers."

President Bush, wrapping up a series of visits with Arab leaders who are working to expand their economies but wary of relaxing their grip on power, on Wednesday praised Egypt as making progress toward "greater political openness." He made no mention of the Egyptian government's continued crackdowns on dissent and the jailing of an opposition presidential candidate.

President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke pledged help for the economy Thursday, but their words gave no comfort to Wall Street, which suffered one of its biggest declines of the last year. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 300 points, deepening the market's recent sell-off amid fears that government aid might be too late to avert a recession.

Stepping out as the standard-bearer for an economic rescue, President Bush called Friday for about $150 billion in tax rebates and other measures designed to be a "shot in the arm" for the flagging economy. The president, who was out of the country for much of the last two weeks as bad news on the economy piled up, returned to the policy forefront by calling for an even larger plan than the $100-billion initiative being discussed in Congress.

The Bush administration is beginning its last year in office by quietly scaling back its foreign policy ambitions as it struggles with new obstacles and rapidly dwindling influence. Only a few months ago, senior officials predicted that before their exit, they could deliver the Middle East peace deal that had eluded so many predecessors.

The California Coastal Commission argued in federal court Tuesday that President Bush violated the U.S. Constitution by trying to overturn a court order that restricted the Navy's use of a type of sonar linked to the deaths of marine mammals. The commission's attorneys said Bush's move to exempt the Navy sonar training exercises in Southern California waters from federal law violated the Constitution's separation-of-powers doctrine.

President Bush on Saturday bemoaned the latest assassination of a Lebanese official and told Syria and Iran to "end their interference" in their neighbor's affairs. Investigators tried to determine whether the killing was tied to past attacks against anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon. "We demand that Syria, Iran and their allies end their interference in and obstruction of Lebanon's political process," Bush said in a statement.

Beginning his final year in office with low approval ratings, a Democratic Congress and a nation fixated on choosing his successor, President Bush is preparing a State of the Union speech for Monday that will accentuate unfinished business and lay out modest goals.

Echoing the limited agenda President Bush outlined in his State of the Union address, congressional Democrats are eyeing their second year in the majority with much-diminished expectations. Gone are the grandiose promises of legislation to bring the troops home from Iraq, which dominated the Democratic agenda last year and nearly ground business on Capitol Hill to a halt.