President Bush said Friday that "it's clear our economy has slowed," hours after a government report showed a decline in payrolls for the second straight month.

But he said the long-term outlook is good, with a stimulus package enacted last month by Congress providing support for the economy.

"I know this is a difficult time for our economy," the president said. "But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot."

Originally posted by DezertSkies

Bush: 'Economy has slowed'

money.cnn.com

President Bush said Friday that "it's clear our economy has slowed," hours after a government report showed a decline in payrolls for the second straight month.

But he said the long-term outlook is good, with a stimulus package enacted last month by Congress providing support for the economy.

"I know this is a difficult time for our economy," the president said. "But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot."

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President Bush on Saturday said the government must guard against going too far in trying to fix the troubled economy, cautioning that "one of the worst things you can do is overcorrect." Democrats said Bush was relying on inaction to solve the problem.

"If we were to pursue some of the sweeping government solutions that we hear about in Washington, we would make a complicated problem even worse -- and end up hurting far more homeowners than we help," the president said.

The economy has surpassed the Iraq war as the No. 1 concern among voters in this presidential election year amid big job losses, soaring fuel costs, a credit crisis and turmoil on Wall Street.

"In the long run, we can be confident that our economy will continue to grow, but in the short run, it is clear that growth has slowed," Bush said. He was spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains after delivering a speech in New York about the economy and helping raise $1.4 million for the national Republican Party.

President Bush, trying to ease turmoil in financial markets, said Monday that his administration is "on top of the situation" in dealing with the slumping economy.
"One thing is for certain, we're in challenging times,' the president said after meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other senior economic advisers. "But another thing is for certain: we've taken strong decisive action."

The president commended the Fed for its urgent actions over the weekend. He said that "we've shown the country and the world that the United States is on top of the situation."

Bush, surrounded by his economic advisers at the White House, said his administration is monitoring economic developments closely.

"When need be, we'll act decisively," Bush said, without indicating any other steps his government might take.