WASHINGTON (AP) -- With a financial rescue plan facing a tough sell on Capitol Hill, President Bush has scheduled a prime-time, televised address Wednesday night, hoping to persuade the public that the massive proposal is relevant to them and "get this over the goal line" with lawmakers.
"The president believes it is important for the American people to fully understand the depths of the crisis affecting our country, how that affects them," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in announcing the speech. "I think everyone will tune in tonight because we are facing a once-in-a-century crisis in our financial markets."
The address, to be delivered from the White House's grand East Room, is to be between 12 and 14 minutes long, Perino said. Bush last gave a prime-time address to the nation 377 days ago, on the Iraq war, when he announced a gradual reduction in U.S. forces there. This one, expected to be carried by all five major television outlets, could be the last of his presidency.
The meltdown among several financial institutions and intense negotiations with Congress over the administration's requested $700 billion bailout package led the president to return to Washington early Wednesday from a three-day stay in New York. He canceled a planned trip to Florida, where he had been scheduled to raise campaign cash for Republican candidates later in the day.
The package is meeting with deep skepticism on Capitol Hill, especially from conservatives in Bush's own party who are revolting at the high price tag and unprecedented government intervention into private markets.
In the face of this, White House and administration officials have warned repeatedly of disaster if the debate is delayed, with Perino saying Wednesday that the nation risks "financial calamity" without bold action.
But that argument has not closed the deal, so Bush's goal clearly was to try to get to lawmakers by framing the debate in layman's terms that persuades the public to demand action from their representatives in Washington.
"The cold on Wall Street could infect Main Street," Perino said. "(People) are concerned about their homes, their education funds, their retirement accounts, their savings. ... I think Americans are plenty smart on this, but more information is certainly better."
Bush does not plan to dwell on how the problem developed, but on thanking lawmakers for working quickly, Perino said.
Throughout the crisis, the White House has struggled to determine how best to deploy Bush.
As the problem mushroomed over the weekend of Sept. 13, Bush generally stayed out of the limelight, letting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke take the lead with reporters, lawmakers and the public. He even canceled a planned statement on the economy last Tuesday and remained silent for days.
Since Thursday, the president has said something publicly on the situation almost every day -- albeit very briefly most times -- and yet he still has had trouble breaking into the debate. News coverage has barely mentioned Bush's comments. Points that he and his White House aides have tried to make about the aim and substance of the bailout plan have been covered mostly on the periphery of the story.
The decision to pull out perhaps a president's largest available weapon -- the ability to command attention on evening television screens throughout the country, from a setting with the ultimate bully-pulpit power -- is one sign that the package faces still-daunting hurdles.
Networks generally grant a president time for major addresses when the White House asked for it. But TV executives can't be thrilled about the timing -- this is the much-promoted week when the networks unveil their first episodes of the fall season for high-profile shows.
Earlier in New York, Bush said he believes a plan will be passed despite the furious back-and-forth.
"I am confident when it's all said and done, that there will be a robust plan," the president said while at one of the last events on his trip to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly.
With so many crises hitting the United States at once, the presidential race has taken a back seat and so has Bush's involvement in politics. Wednesday's Florida trip was the third time in a week that he has canceled his attendance at out-of-town fundraisers.
Last Thursday, he scrapped attendance at fundraisers in Alabama and Florida, as well as an energy event in Alabama, to stay at the White House and consult with economic advisers. He also cancelled his appearance at fundraisers in Kansas and Texas last Tuesday, but those were replaced by a trip to another part of Texas to review damage from Hurricane Ike.
The economic crisis also is almost certain to overshadow the rest of Bush's four months left in office, and could hugely impact his legacy. It has been assumed that the long-term view of Bush's presidency was to be shaped largely by Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Now, the dire economic problems and the aftermath of the government's attempt to deal with them will certainly be added to that list as well.
