Bush Defends His Economic Record

Says Admin. Has Been "Clear And Candid" About Nation's Economy; Dems Fault President For Ignoring Home Front

(CBS/AP)  Despite four months of job losses and barely positive economic growth, President Bush said today that Americans should have confidence in the long-term outlook of the economy.

He's pinning his hopes to an economic "surge" being delivered starting this week in the form of tax rebate checks.

"Most economic experts predict that the stimulus will have a positive effect on the economy in this quarter and even a greater impact in the next," Mr. Bush said.

In his Saturday radio address the president defended his record and his rhetoric, saying that his administration has been "clear and candid" about the nation's economy.

"We saw the economic slowdown coming, we were up front about these concerns with the American people, and we've been taking decisive action," Mr. Bush said.

The president's comments appeared at least partly in response to a drumbeat of criticism from Democratic leaders, who say his view of the economy is rosy and unrealistic.

Mr. Bush sounded an upbeat tone following a modest uptick of economic news this week.

The economy grew in the first quarter of the year, but only by a meager 0.6 percent. Yet it was not the contraction that some analysts feared. Employers slashed fewer jobs in April than they had in earlier months. The unemployment rate in April also fell slightly.

"No temporary setbacks can hold back the most powerful force in our economy - the ingenuity of the American people," Mr. Bush said. "Because of your hard work and dedication, I am confident that we will weather this rough period and emerge stronger than ever."

Consumer confidence, a vital part of the economy's health, has hit record lows. And in the public's mind, the president's handling of the economy has taken a serious blow, too.

In Mr. Bush's final year in office, families have been hit from all sides - soaring gas prices, crumbling mortgages, rising grocery bills, struggles to afford college loans.

The president is counting on a short-term economic boost to help. In a deal he reached with Congress back in February, tax rebate checks of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples are on their way to more than 130 million households.

"This package will help American families increase their purchasing power and help offset the high prices that we're seeing at the gas pump and the grocery store," Mr. Bush said.

The true effect of those rebates remains a hotly debated question in economic circles.

Indiana Rep. Andre Carson said more is needed.

"While these recovery rebate checks are a significant first step, we know we must do more to help workers who have lost their jobs and families who are at risk of losing their homes," Carson said Saturday in the Democrats' weekly radio address. "Democrats are also fighting for a second economic stimulus package and are working hard to enact comprehensive housing legislation that will help more Americans avoid foreclosure and hold on to the American Dream."

Carson also noted last Thursday's anniversary of Bush declaring "mission accomplished" in Iraq.

"If we took even a fraction of the billions of dollars we spend in Iraq and used them here at home, we could make real progress and help get our nation out of our economic slump," the Democrat said.

Mr. Bush used the bulk of his weekly radio platform to pressure Congress, once again, into approving legislation he says would help the sluggish economy rebound even more.

CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller said Mr. Bush argued once again for making permanent his tax cuts, set to expire in 2010, and to allow drilling for oil in a protected region of northern Alaska.

He also encouraged more oil refining capacity, and asked lawmakers to modernize the Federal Housing Administration to allow some additional homeowners to refinance from subprime loans into government-backed mortgages.

The president has made such arguments for weeks, to no avail on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Bush taped the radio address in Washington on Friday before delivering an economic speech outside of St. Louis and then heading to his Texas ranch for the weekend.

• Click here to read the full text of President Bush's radio address.
  
• Click here to read the Democratic Party's response, by Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana.

[singingrick]

Conservatives believe that personal responsibility is a practice that everyone else should engage in but they run from it themselves. Bush has destroyed this country and screwed up much of the rest of the world with his stubborn stupidity and yet he is incapable of admitting his many mistakes. Conservatism is a mental disorder.

[singingrick]

Conservatives believe that personal responsibility is a practice that everyone else should engage in but they run from it themselves. Bush has destroyed this country and screwed up much of the rest of the world with his stubborn stupidity and yet he is incapable of admitting his many mistakes. Conservatism is a mental disorder.

[cburn665]

the audacity of this administration to not realise that they''re hugely responsible for this mess that we''re in.

And, we Americans should be ashamed for NOT being outraged and taking to the streets!!!

[veteran72]

Let''s see now,....Shrub and Darth steal $3 Trillion for themselves and their Scumbag Pals, and I get a check for $600 bux........Hmmmmmmmm.....

[jerr11]

Bush Defends His Economic Record



He''ll have a lot more defending to do in the years to come!

Guess that''s why he bought the 100,000 acre ranch in Paraguay!

Heckuva job, Liar-in-Chief!

[forthepeopl1]

For the fourth month in a row, the economy lost jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. But in April the losses totaled 20,000, an improvement from the 81,000 reductions in payrolls logged in March. Job losses for both February and March turned out to be a bit deeper than previously reported.

The latest snapshot of the nationwide employment conditions - while ya right bush,ba ba ba

you do nothing wornge

[b-easy63]

"If we took even a fraction of the billions of dollars we spend in Iraq and used them here at home, we could make real progress and help get our nation out of our economic slump," the Democrat said.


This is SOOOOOO true, and yet, I don''t recall seeing the guns pointed to the Democrats heads when they added billions more to each defense bill then passed them.

Dems must stop being whiners and blamers--the Iraq war was stupid, remains stupid and is illegal--but the people who put America and Iraq where they are right now are Bush and Congress--and the people who keep funding the war and making up reasons why they can''t stop doing that are Bush and Congress.

Bush cannot write or generate a single check for the Iraq war. Congress does that--and a Congress who rolls over after a veto and does not have the guts or spine to just keep sending the veto bill back to Bush without any money--until he caves--is just as much to blame as Bush.

If you see someone set a fire and do nothing, you are probably also to blame, but if the arsonist begs for more gasoline and you provide it--then you are aiding and abetting and are an arsonist too. There are no halos here.

[missingamerica]

So there ya are, setting out on your first cruise...the ship leaves port, and for your first dinner - you have to eat at the Captain''s table!

So you dress nicely, and when the Captain arrives - why, it is none other than George W. Bush!

So tell me the proper etiquette - do you order the chicken, the fish, or a life jacket?

[ubrew12]

Any ordinary fool can purchase a good economy with a credit card.

But Bush is NO ordinary fool...

[mcv57]

How to you spell delusional and self-denial: G.W. Bush! History will remember G.W. Bush nothing more than an irresponsible, drunken, opportunist and profiteer scounrel. History notorius government gangster who successfully used the military to torture and kill thousands for the sake of his financial gain and political manipulation of the U.S. Constitution.

[trvlr005]

Bush has - and has had for some time - his head in the sand about most critical issues. He is way out of touch with his constituents.

[missingamerica]

He does indeed have some economic "records", though...

Fastest turnaround from surplus to deficit...

Fastest transformation of the U.S. Dollar into a second-tier currency...

Fastest transfer of money from the middle class and poor to the wealthy...

Fastest increase in trade deficits...

lollll..fastest destruction of America''s economic future in the history of America...

[missingamerica]

After eight years of watching Bush, I have finally ended up glad he is a chickenhawk who successfully avoided all possibility of combat service.

Man...can you imagine the surge in friendly fire deaths if he''d been allowed to run around loose upstairs with a fully-loaded Thud or Phantom - or (shudder) a B-52?

[prairiefox1]

THIS MORON REALLY THINKS HE IS NOT THE CAUSE OF IT ALL? HE MUST THINK THE POPULATION IS TOTAL IDIOTS!

[spoonerfineart]

WHAT IS TO DEFEND... HIS KILLING OF 4056 AMERICANS. AS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY, HE HAS NO RIGHT TO DEFEND ANYTHING.

HE SHOULD JUST WALK OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH HIS TAIL TUCKED BETWEEN HIS LEGS. GO BACK TO CRAWFORD AND DISAPPEAR.

[prairiefox1]

Bush has - and has had for some time - his head in the sand about most critical issues. He is way out of touch with his constituents.


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Posted by trvlr005
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I THINK HIS HEAD WAS IN A MUCH STINKY PLACE! PLEASE DO NOT CONTAMINATE OUR SAND!

[ms38654ob]

If his aim was to destroy this country in just about every way, then he can hang a banner:

"Mission Accomplished"

[prairiefox1]

THE JAPANESE HAVE A OLD CUSTOM THAT WHEN THEY DISGRACE THEM SELVES THAT COMMIT "HARI KERI"!
BUSH SHOULD DO THE ONLY HONORABLE THING HE HAS EVER DONE AND FOLLOW SUIT!

[hypnotoad72]

If they saw it coming, why did they say there was no problem while many others were?

I will agree with the President on some things, but this time it''s not making sense.

[edward1975-2009]

The middle class has been all but exterminated, and he defends this. In his world all must be just peachy.

[bluebayou599]

Anyone remember the deficit trials ad from the 1980s? I found it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVzStqf2TT0

Bush should be the one put in that glass tube.

[girlmiami]

Lies again..We are in the worst recession. My job $45.00 an hour job with American Express was sent to India for someone now earning $8.50 an hour. I have a mastor''s degree. Why is the US government allowing this. So after
17 years I am unemployed for the first time in my life.

[spongebob858]

I think President Bush has done a good job,and I will miss him when he is gone.I am a 49 year old Black American,born and raised in the "ghetto".I have a highschool diploma,and raised in a 3 bedroom project with 3 brothers and 1 sister.Today,I am on my way to becoming a self-made millionaire!There is nothing you can''t do,if you work hard,and never give up.The America dream will always be there for those that seek it.Ask yourself "What am I seeking"?

[huanaco]

GENTLEMEN ALL : IT IS NOT TOO LATE ''!IMPEACH THE MORON !

[jt_lancer]

Bush is an economic illiterate who has no understanding whatsoever how a market economy works.

Unfortunately, the remaining candidates for President (Hillary, Obama, McCain) are just as bad.

Anyone who looks to the government to ''fix'' the economy when the government is largely responsible for wrecking it in the first place is an idiot.

[hermitdave]

Well George I see you are lying again. How much we borrow from China this week? I know Uncle *** is saying you are the MESSIAH, but does this mean you can make everyone rich by sending them 300 bucks? By the way how is that Iraq SPLURGE going, I see you have another dead crusader to NOT visit his casket when it arrives at Dover AFB.

[hermitdave]

Well George I see you are lying again. How much we borrow from China this week? I know Uncle *** is saying you are the MESSIAH, but does this mean you can make everyone rich by sending them 300 bucks? By the way how is that Iraq SPLURGE going, I see you have another dead crusader to NOT visit his casket when it arrives at Dover AFB.

[prairiefox1]

If they saw it coming, why did they say there was no problem while many others were?

I will agree with the President on some things, but this time it''''s not making sense.



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Posted by hypnotoad72
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
AND A STOPPED CLOCK IS CORRECT TWO TIMES A DAY!

[liberalme]

Thank God this is Bushs "last stand".

All these "surges" are painful when we try to sit down.

[donbl1]

On CNN In the Money just now,,,,,,,

We are not sick just a fever was the quote from the economist. Same comments yesterday from CNBC.

Apparently, our "worse" fears are not going to come but we have a slow economic recovery ahead of us. Time for the political demagods to get off the schtick.

Inflation should be moderating as the dollar stabilizes. It does not "have to rise" but just stabilize to slow inflation.

By November elections, we may be in more recovery than expected and the market may have continued the nice climb that we have had the last month.

If you stayed invested, you should now be about breakeven for the year with nice upside in front of you the rest of the way.

BTW, have not seen any articles about the unemployment impact of the thousands of Boomers retiring every day..... it has got to be impacting our unemployment data and I doubt we understand it.

[missingamerica]

So after 17 years I am unemployed for the first time in my life.

Posted by girlmiami at 01:02 PM : May 03, 2008

Ohhhh, you way better keep that a secret...Republicans don''t listen to people who aren''t rich, let alone those who are unemployed...

[mikeim5]

bush defended that sill felonymills.com scheme too. he''s okay, but i think he could have done alot better!

[mikeim5]

bush defended that sill felonymills.com scheme too. he''s okay, but i think he could have done alot better!

[girlmiami]

Lies again..We are in the worst recession. My job $45.00 an hour job with American Express was sent to India for someone now earning $8.50 an hour. I have a mastor''s degree. Why is the US government allowing this. So after
17 years I am unemployed for the first time in my life.

[ubrew12]

Wages and salaries of working people now make up the lowest share of the nation%u2019s gross domestic product since these data began to be collected more than sixty years ago.

In 2005 the wealthiest 1 percent of the country earned 21.2 percent of all income, according to IRS data, while the bottom 50 percent of all Americans earned just 12.8 percent of all income, down from 13.4 percent a year earlier.

[donbl1]

ubrew, and the bottom 50% ..... 80% of those do not pay any income taxes at all and many get government subsidies.........

[ontheleft]

Let''s examine the economic record of Bush:
* worker productivity up 20% since 2000
* real worker wages down since 2000 (workers did not share in productivity gains)
* sluggish job market for 1st 4 years of his term resulting in vast underemployment that continues to this day
* flood of illegal aliens coming in after 9/11 when funds were diverted away from border patrol
* record government debt levels resulting in inflation and collapse of dollar
* record oil prices
* record food prices
* these have been the benefits of all his tax cuts - which were slanted to benefit the wealthy in the first place

[Hybdiesel]

Any one who belives any thing this idot says is a biger idot than him.

[donbl1]

girlmiami, you were displaced by the thousands of miles of fiber optic cable put down across oceans in late 90''s. That drove down the price of transocean communication to pennies.........

Who to blame? The internet and the telecommunications companies.

You are smart enough to retrain and this time focus on jobs that can not be easily outsourced.

[mikeim5]

if hillary gets elected, the country will go to shambles.

[Hybdiesel]

Check out the look on his face, I can read his mind. He is saying Laura, time to change my pampers again.

[ubrew12]

donbl1 said: "this time focus on jobs that can not be easily outsourced."

Yeah, girlmiami! Why did you take a telecommunications job in the first place? You have only yourself to blame.

In the middle of this telecommunications and information revolution, its simply irresponsible to take jobs in telecommunications or information!

[ddaryl1]

spent 3 years and 7 months bouncing between low paying and no-benfit jobs while doing stuff on the side to make ends meet. I''m lucky I got called back to my union job finnnally, but now expenses are so high I am working a lot of OT just trying keep up and dig myself out of the hole from being laid off for so long....

Why is Bush not in jail or swinging from a tree ???

[glossypan]

Halliburton is in high cotton.
Petroleum prices have skyrocketed.

Except for that legacy thing, life is a bowl of cherries from this administration''s perspective.

[girlmiami]

Lies again..We are in the worst recession. My job $45.00 an hour job with American Express was sent to India for someone now earning $8.50 an hour. Marketing - I have a mastor''s degree. Why is the US government allowing this. So after 17 years I am unemployed for the first time in my life.

[girlmiami]

My job was not in the telecommunications in it was in
managment. 17 years and taken to India and American Express got a tax credit for sending my job there.

[ubrew12]

glossypan said: "Halliburton is in high cotton...life is a bowl of cherries from this administrations perspective. "

Did you know they''re building a ski-resort in Abu Dhabi, where Halliburton just moved their headquarters? I can see why Halliburton moved there. It''s always nice to live where you can see your tax dollars at work.

[aztecdakota]

He has done what no one could do, in over two hundred years, of wars, hardships, sickness and even the great Depression could not do to this country. He has destroyed the greatest nation ever on earth, in less than years. Sure hope we can get a leader who will help the AMERICAN PEOPLE, not every tom *** and harry country, out there.

[sgtrds]

Of course he sees his economic record as a success, because it''s done exactly what it was intended to do all along. Transfer massive amounts of taxpayer money from the hands of the average people and put it into the hands of the wealthy elite. The right wing always claims that the left is trying to start a class war, when the fact is that we are already in the middle of won and the wealthy elite are winning. the poor and middle-class of this nation are being systematically robbed by the wealthy few. we are at the point of reaching their goal of establishing a new nobility, with the rest of us merely serfs and possessions of the landed gentry.

[enlightenu]

All those years of doing cocaine must have cooked the logic part of bush''s brain. He''s sure missing something