Bush Says Restoring Confidence Will `Take a While' (Update3)

By Roger Runningen

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said ``it's going to take a while'' for confidence in financial markets to be restored even with the $700 billion federal effort to shore up banks and other institutions.

Bush, in two appearances today, sought to ease public concerns about the economy and urge patience while the rescue plan approved by Congress and signed into law last week is put into action.

``We don't want to rush into this situation and not have the program be effective,'' he said after talking with customers at a San Antonio lunch counter, where he made an unscheduled stop after attending a political fundraiser. ``It's going to take a while to restore confidence in the financial system.''

Later, before a speech on judicial appointments, the president told an audience in Cincinnati ``that we have been through tough times before, and we're going to come through this just fine.''

Stocks tumbled around the world as the yearlong credit market seizure caused bank bailouts to spread through Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4.7 percent, falling below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004. The Dow average fell to as much as 8 percent below its level when Bush took office in January 2001. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.4 percent, and Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index had its steepest intraday decline since 1987.

Consultations

Administration spokesman Scott Stanzel said earlier today that U.S. officials ``are in regular contact'' with counterparts overseas ``to promote stability in our markets.''

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said the tumult in the markets ``is a reminder that the rescue package passed last week is not the end of our efforts to deal with the economy, it's just the beginning.''

The Illinois senator said it is ``very important'' for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to ``swiftly'' use the authority granted them by Congress to take actions that will calm markets.

Obama made brief remarks to reporters outside his hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, where he was preparing for a debate tomorrow night with Republican candidate John McCain.

McCain, an Arizona senator, was in Phoenix and hasn't commented today on the credit crisis. He's scheduled to hold a rally at 1:30 p.m. local time in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Bush is scheduled tomorrow afternoon to make remarks on the economy and the $700 billion financial markets rescue plan he signed into law last week. He will be speaking to employees and executives of an office products company in Chantilly, Virginia.

Among those Bush met today at the Olmos Pharmacy lunch counter were the owners of a local car dealership, an auto repair business and two restaurateurs.

``It's clear that these small business owners are dealing with the effects of a credit crunch,'' Bush said.

The president said they asked him why the rescue plan was directed primarily at Wall Street. He said he told them had the government not acted ``people would be a lot worse off.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in San Antonio at rrunningen@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 6, 2008 15:15 EDT

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