CINCINNATI — As Wall Street reeled and global markets plunged, President Bush said Monday that the U.S. economy is going to be “just fine” in the long run. But he cautioned that the massive rescue plan will take time to work.
On another jittery day in the financial markets, the president made two rounds of unscheduled comments on the economy — first after meeting with small-business owners in San Antonio and then at the top of a speech in Cincinnati about judicial nominees.
In both cases, he defended the $700 billion economic bailout plan as one that won’t help just Wall Street but everyday workers and businesses, too.
“I believe that in the long run, this economy is going to be just fine,” Bush said.
In the short term, he said, the Treasury Department must go about enacting its plan to buy troubled assets from financial firms so that credit will start flowing again to consumers.
Earlier, in Texas, Bush emphasized that the program must be effectively designed and not rushed into action. “It’s going to take a while to restore confidence in the financial system,” he said. “But one thing people can be certain of is that the bill I signed is a big step toward solving this problem.”
