...Some would say a good thing?

Bush Absent on Financial Crisis as Paulson Leads U.S. Response

By Catherine Dodge and John Brinsley

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- This week, President George W. Bush held a state dinner for Ghana's president, surveyed Texas hurricane damage, posed with Youth of the Year award finalists, and met with Army General David Petraeus.

During that time, Bush has publicly uttered 160 words about the worst Wall Street crisis since the Great Depression, saying the government is working to ``reduce disruptions'' in U.S. financial markets.

As Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confronted the collapse of Lehman Brothers Inc., the sale of Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest stock market drop in seven years, and a government takeover of American International Group Inc., the president has been conspicuous by his absence.

``It's George W. Who?'' said Fred Greenstein, a presidential historian at Princeton University in New Jersey.

``The country is facing an economic 9/11,'' said Leon Panetta, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. ``To deal with that kind of situation, the president has to take charge and tell the country not only what is going on, but what he is going to do about it. You can't just leave it to the secretary of the Treasury.''

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Goerge W. Who? If only we had said that 8-years ago...