BUSH IN DENIAL………

[Anonymous]

Bush Denies US Is Headed for Recession
WASHINGTON
(MARCH 08 ) — President Bush said Thursday that the country is not
headed into a recession and, despite expressing concern about slowing
economic growth, rejected for now any additional stimulus efforts.
“We’ve acted robustly,” he said.”We’ll see the effects of this
pro-growth package,” Bush told reporters at a White House news
conference, acknowledging that some lawmakers already are talking about
a second stimulus package. “Why don’t we let stimulus package one,
which seemed like a good idea at the time, have a chance to kick
in?”President Bush speaks at a news conference Thursday at the White
House. He expressed a view of the economy that is more upbeat than that
of many economists, who say a recession is near or has already
arrived.Bush’s view of the economy was decidedly rosier than that of
many economists, who say the country is nearing recession territory or
may already be there.The centerpiece of government efforts to brace the
wobbly economy is a package Congress passed and Bush signed last month.
It will rush rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of people
and give tax incentives to businesses.

On one issue particularly
worrisome to American consumers, there are indications that paying $4
for a gallon of gasoline is not out of the question once the summer
driving season arrives. Asked about that, Bush said “That’s
interesting. I hadn’t heard that. … I know it’s high now.”   Gasoline
prices are rising quickly and may soar to near $4 a gallon by spring,
experts said. The surge is cutting into families’ budgets and comes at
a terrible time for the economy, as growth is slowing. “The effect …
could be the difference between having a recession and not having a
recession,” one economist said. Full Story Bush also telegraphed
optimism about the U.S. dollar, which has been declining in value.”I
believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place for us to
… grow and continue growing, more robustly hopefully than we’re
growing now,” he said. “So we’re still for a strong dollar.”Bush also
used his news conference to press Congress to give telecommunications
companies legal immunity for helping the government eavesdrop after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.He continued a near-daily effort to prod
lawmakers into passing his version of a law to make it easier for the
government to conduct domestic eavesdropping on suspected terrorists’
phone calls and e-mails. He says the country is in more danger now that
a temporary surveillance law has expired.Worries about the economy have
prompted many to scrap daily treats like bottled water and coffee
drinks. One woman sacrificed her Starbucks Iced Mocha Latte for a
home-brewed Folgers flavored with syrup. “With gasoline at $3 per
gallon, I can pass up Starbucks,” she said. Click through the rest of
the photos to find out how others are saving.

Bush said the
companies helped the government after being told “that their assistance
was legal and vital to national security.” ”Allowing these lawsuits to
proceed would be unfair,” he said.More important, Bush added, “the
litigation process could lead to the disclosure of information about
how we conduct surveillance and it would give al-Qaida and others a
roadmap as to how to avoid the surveillance.”The Senate passed its
version of the surveillance bill earlier this month, and it provides
retroactive legal protection for telecommunications companies that
wiretapped U.S. phone and computer lines at the government’s request
and without court permission. The House version, approved in October,
does not include telecom immunity.

Telecom companies face around
40 lawsuits for their alleged role in wiretapping their American
customers.Senate Democrats appeared unwilling to budge.As Bush began
speaking, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.,
cast the president’s position as a “tiresome campaign…to avoid
accountability for the unlawful surveillance of Americans.””The
president once again is misusing his bully pulpit,” Leahy said. “Once
again they are showing they are not above fear-mongering if that’s what
it takes to get their way.”Bush criticized the Democratic presidential
candidates over their attempts to disassociate themselves from the
North American Free Trade Agreement, a free-trade pact between the
U.S., Canada and Mexico. Bush said the deal is contributing to more and
better-paying jobs for Americans.”The idea of just unilaterally
withdrawing from a trade treaty because of, you know, trying to score
political points is not good policy,” he said. “It’s not good policy on
the merits and it’s not good policy as a message to send to people who
have in good faith signed a treaty and worked with us on a
treaty.”Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are
feuding over NAFTA as they compete for their party’s presidential
nomination, as the pact is deeply unpopular with blue-collar workers.
Though neither has said they were ready to pull the United States out
of the agreement, both say they would use the threat of doing so to
pressure Mexico to renegotiate it.Bush fended off a question about why
he has yet to replace Fran Townsend, his White House-based terrorism
adviser, who announced her resignation more than three months ago. He
said the job is being ably filled by her former deputy, Joel Bagnal.On
another issue, Bush said that Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish rebels
in northern Iraq should be limited — and should end as soon as
possible. The ongoing fighting has put the United States in a touchy
position, as it is close allies with both Iraq and Turkey. A long
offensive along their border could jeopardize security in Iraq just as
the U.S. is trying to stabilize the war-wracked country.”The Turks need
to move, move quickly, achieve their objective and get out,” he said.

On
Russia, Bush said he does not know much about Dmitry Medvedev, the
handpicked successor to President Vladimir Putin who is coasting to the
job. Bush said it will be interesting to see who represents Russia —
presumably either Medvedev or Putin — at the Group of Eight meeting
later this year in Japan.The president advised his own successor to
develop a personal relationship with whomever is in charge in
Moscow.”As you know, Putin’s a straightforward, pretty tough character
when it comes to his interests — well so am I,” Bush said. He said that
he and Putin have “had some diplomatic head butts.”Bush also said,
however, that the pair have “a cordial enough relationship to be able
to deal with common threats and opportunities, and that’s going to be
important for the next president to maintain.”Bush also defended his
stance of not talking directly with leaders of adversaries such as Iran
and Cuba without setting preconditions. In doing so, he offered some of
his strongest criticism yet of Raul Castro, who assumed Cuba’s
presidency on Sunday after his ailing brother Fidel, who ruled for
decades, stepped aside.”Sitting down at the table, having your picture
taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends the status
of the office and the status of our country to him,” Bush said.He said
that Raul Castro is “nothing more than an extension of what his brother
did, which is ruin an island.”

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March 3, 2008 at 1:56 PM