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Bush stays home to deal with economy

US President George W. Bush has canceled two domestic trips to stay in Washington yesterday and consult with top economic advisers on the struggling US economy, the White House said.

Bush was due to address the market and other economic developments, speaking from just outside the Oval Office.

His press secretary Dana Perino said that Bush would “emphasize that he and his administration are continuing to work on efforts to promote stability in the markets”but would not announce any new policy moves.

Bush was talking regularly with senior economic advisors, and was due to meet later yesterday with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Perino said.

Bush has not fielded questions about the economic upheaval this week and even canceled a statement on Tuesday.

He has not held a news conference since July.

Bush had been scheduled to attend political fundraising events yesterday in Juniper, Florida, and Huntsville, Alabama, but “will instead remain in Washington to continue to work with his economic advisers on the serious challenges confronting our financial markets,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said late on Wednesday.

“The health of our financial markets is critical to the nation’s economy, and the president remains focused on taking action to stabilize and strengthen our markets and to restore investor confidence,” Fratto said.

Vice President Dick Cheney was scheduled to fill in for Bush at the Alabama event, Fratto said.

The White House has also throttled back its description of the US economy, labeling it resilient enough to withstand some shocks to the system but refusing to say it is fundamentally sound — the phrase that has jolted the race for the presidency.

In defending the latest corporate rescue by the government, the White House on Wednesday put the country’s economic state in a much more measured perspective.

Perino said “it’s not clear-cut,” but rather a mixed package of up-and-down economic measures, sometimes even on the same day.

“Our economy has the strength to be able to deal with these shocks,” Perino said.

The economic language that emerges from the White House is always important. It sends messages to the markets and to the masses. And it is designed to find a balance of boosting consumer confidence while also being candid enough to prevent Bush from appearing out of touch.

When Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain declared on Monday that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” it drew ridicule from his opponent, Democratic Senator Barack Obama.

McCain later said he meant that the fundamental strength of the US worker remained strong.

In fact, the phrase and its variations have long been a favorite of Bush’s.

“I believe the foundations of this economy are strong,” he said on July 31.

Perino declined to say whether the White House still stood by the statement.

“I recognize that this issue of ‘strength’ has come into the 2008 election,” she said. “I’m not going to try to get involved in it.”

Even when reporters asked for Bush’s view of the economy regardless of the McCain-Obama race, Perino would not bite.

“I know as soon as I say something, you’re going to turn it around and it will be a part of the 2008 campaign,” she said. “I’m not going to play the game.”

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