Bush tries to reassure on financial crisis in U.S.

McClatchy Newspapers

UNITED NATIONS — President Bush tried Tuesday to calm growing global fears over the United States’ worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, telling world leaders he’s confident that Congress will pass a $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street.

“I know that many of you here are watching,” Bush said in his final address to the annual U.N. General Assembly. “I can assure you that my administration and the Congress are working to pass legislation” to deal with the crisis. “I’m confident that we will act in the urgent time frame required.”

Earlier, in a meeting with new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Bush called congressional objections to the administration’s proposals part of the “natural give and take” between the branches of government.

The U.S. financial crisis, which has affected markets around the world, overshadowed the yearly gathering of world leaders. Representatives of developing countries, who already are grappling with a food crisis that’s seen the cost of basic commodities soar, expressed particular worry and in some cases anger.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy went further than Bush, calling for a summit of world leaders to deal with the crisis before year’s end.

“Let us rebuild together a regulated capitalism,” Sarkozy said, “in which whole swaths of financial activity are not left to the sole judgment of market operators, in which banks do their job, which is to finance economic development rather than engage in speculation.”

Bush, who’s had cool relations with the United Nations during his tenure, particularly over his 2003 invasion of Iraq, spent most of his speech reprising his familiar themes of fighting terrorism and the spread of nuclear arms. He delivered his remarks without any evident enthusiasm.

The president also briefly chided Russia for its August invasion of Georgia.

He criticized Iran for what he called its nuclear weapons work and support for terrorism. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke to the General Assembly later Tuesday.