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This morning on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace moderated a discussion about the auto industry.  One of his guests was Dr. Austan Goolsbee, who is a Member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
I want to focus on some incorrect and inflammatory statements by [...]

The President has arrived in London for the G-20 economic summit.  I have different policy views than the President on some of these issues, but I will not criticize him while he is overseas.  I will attempt to gently highlight a couple of substantive issues that concern me, but at the same time I want [...]

I think President Obama will soon need to ask Congress for more TARP funding, and that such a request will displace his legislative agenda for a while.  Let’s do the math.
When President Obama took office, $387 B of the $700 B of available TARP funds had already been publicly committed.  Here’s the breakdown.

Public commitment

Banks — [...]

The President hosted the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy this past Friday and Saturday at the National Building Museum here in Washington, DC.
This is the first of a two-part note.  Part one will describe the mechanics of the Summit and show some photos.  Part two will describe the substance.
The action began in [...]

The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets met at 8:30 AM today to announce the specifics of the new policy actions described by the President in the Rose Garden earlier this morning.
This note is just a collection of primary source documents from today’s announcement.  Generalists will likely be interested in the first six documents, as [...]

President Bush spoke at 8:02 AM this morning in the Rose Garden.
Good morning.  I just completed a meeting with my working group on financial markets.  We discussed the unprecedented and aggressive steps the federal government is taking to address the financial crisis.  Over the past few weeks, my administration has worked with both parties in [...]

President Bush gave a major policy address on the State Floor of the White House this evening.
THE WHITE HOUSE
State Floor
9:01 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy.  Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future.  I understand their worry and their [...]

Here’s what President Bush said at 10:45 AM today in the Rose Garden.
This is really important.
Good morning.  I thank Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox for joining me today.
This is a pivotal moment for America’s economy.  Problems that originated in the credit markets — and first showed [...]

The President will speak at 10:45 AM.  I’ll send his remarks soon after he has spoken.  Here’s what Secretary Paulson said shortly after 10 AM this morning.
Last night, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairman Chris Cox and I had a lengthy and productive working session with Congressional leaders.  We began a substantive discussion on [...]

The House passed the bipartisan growth bill (aka the “stimulus bill”) yesterday on an overwhelming 385-35 vote.  93% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans voted aye.  That vote is a direct result of the cooperation among Speaker Pelosi, Republican Leader Boehner, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson on behalf of the President.
The bill now heads to [...]