White House Briefing

For weeks, the administration has been lowering expectations about the economy, saying the third quarter report on gross domestic product would be rough.

It was. It fell 0.3% between July and September, the weakest figure in seven years. And the White House outlook? Things are probably going to get worse.

"There's no question the economy has weakened significantly," admitted Eddie Lazear, chairman of the president's council of economic advisors. "We've got a few tough months ahead of us,"

Lazear said parts of the U.S. are undoubtedly in a recession, but declined to say if the entire country is. By definition, a recession occurs when the economy shrinks for two quarters in a row.

But Lazear said the administration's recent actions, notably the massive $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP will help move the economy in the right direction.

Dividends

Meantime, White House press secretary Dana Perino was subjected to a barrage of questions about why banks dipping into the TARP trough for much needed capital continue to pay dividends to shareholders.

"You know, some people think only rich people get dividends. That's not true, she said." Perino pointed out that "mutual funds, schoolteachers" and others get dividends through investments they hold.

Where's Bush?

The silence is thunderous. President Bush is, perhaps not by choice, staying off the campaign trail and keeping quiet about the race to succeed him - a race now down to its final hundred hours. He'll spend the weekend at Camp David with the First Lady, but will return to the White House to watch returns on election night.

When will the president hold a news conference to comment on the election?

"I don't know," says Perino. "You'll probably hear from me first though, on Tuesday night."

The President did find a receptive audience today, though, attending graduation at the FBI academy, then visiting Marine Squadron One - home of Marine One, the presidential helicopter.

Mrs. Bush, for her part, visited New Orleans today, her 20th visit to the Gulf region since Hurricane Katrina. She visited an elementary school and announced a grant to help rebuild school libraries in the region. Perino said it would probably be Mrs. Bush's final visit to the region as first lady.

White House Briefing

With election day two weeks away, why hasn't the president been campaigning for John McCain? White House spokesperson Dana Perino says Sen. McCain -- who now goes to great lengths to distance himself from Mr. Bush, by saying "I'm not George Bush" - is running his campaign as he sees fit. Besides, Perino says, the president has had a lot on his plate the last few months: notably Russia's invasion of Georgia and the economic crisis. Does this suggest he's too busy to help Sen. McCain? "Not at all," says Perino.

The possibility of a second round of economic stimulus checks is on the White House radar, but with Congress away for the next few weeks, the White House is not expecting anything to happen anytime soon. Does the White House support the idea? "We're open to any and all ideas," Perino says. But she points out the massive $700 billion rescue package approved by Congress and signed by the president is still in the pipeline: "It'll take a while for that to have an impact."

Perino knocked down the The New York Times article claiming President Bush has decided not to close the U.S. Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some 272 detainees are being held. "The president remains committed to closing Guantanamo," she said, "But it is complicated." Perino cited several reasons, including ongoing habeus corpus litigation, military tribunals and the unresolved issue of where to move any detainees that might be released. "Guantanamo would be easy to close," she says, "If you don't care about those issues."

Today at Talk Radio News

White House Correspondent Lovisa Frost will be covering the White House briefing.

Pentagon Correspondent Adrian Frost will be reporting from the Pentagon on U.S. Forces Korea issues and programs

Military Correspondent Cholene Espinoza is in Baghdad, Iraq.

The Washington Bureau will be covering the National Housing Summit by the Housing Urban Development Department, The New America Foundation's forum on "What Comes Next? The Economic and Budgetary Consequences of the Financial Bailout", the Heritage Foundation's address on "US Success in Iraq", the Securities and Exchange Commission's roundtable discussion on ways to modernize its disclosure system to give investors more useful and timely information for investment decision-making, The Energy Department and the Commerce Department 2008 Nuclear Energy Summit, a pen and pad briefing on the Senate elections by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and the Supreme Court case Winter v. Natural Resources.

The Washington Bureau will also be covering a National Press Club briefing on "current economic conditions, recent government actions, and positions of major-party presidential nominees". 

Bush says market will be fine in time

"We're focused on the financial system as a whole," said President Bush in a statement today at the Rose Garden. His statement was in response to a bad weekend on Wall Street which included investment bank Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy on Monday and financial firm Merrill Lynch getting bought by Bank of America to save itself from bankruptcy.

He added that the short term adjustments might be painful, but "in the long run, I'm confident our capital markets are flexible and resilient."

Bush said he appreciated the job of the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He added that financial institutions in the United States and abroad would allow for "stability in the financial systems."

President Bush said that Americans can be assured that his administration is working hard to solve current "adjustments" in the job markets. He also said that this administration would try to improve "the broader economy."

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the root of the problem lies in the current housing prices. That, he says, is the reason the administration is adamant about bailing out mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Paulson added that the American people can be "very confident in the federal banking system." He echoed the president's claim that despite some "rough spots along the road," the US economy is favorable compared to that of any developed country in the world.

Paulson would not speculate as to whether this country's economic problems were the fault of the Bush administration, but Paulson said he was "playing the hand that was dealt me."

Today at Talk Radio News

Coverage will consist of White House Correspondent Lovisa Frost reporting on the morning gaggle and press briefing from the White House. U.N. Correspondent Dan Patterson will be reporting from the United Nations about a recent Dali Lama protest and will be covering briefings in the afternoon.

Important hearings today will consist of T. Boone Pickens’ appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government affairs Committee for a hearing on energy security. Republicans will be holding a press conference to wrap up their American Energy Tour. Featured will be House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and freshman members Bob Latta (R-Ohio.) as well as Michelle Bachman (R-Minn.).