Bush on the Economy: "This sucker could go down"

At the G-20 Economic Summit in Washington, President Bush, in a rare, unscripted moment, acknowledged that the extreme steps taken by the Fed and US Treasury--since Bear Stearns defaulted 17 months ago--were intended to avoid what he called "a depression greater than the Great Depression."

That's quite an admission for Bush, as well as a vindication of those who have been making the same prediction for more than 2 years.

And although Bush rejected any personal responsibility for the policies which led to the crisis, it's clear that he has some rudimentary grasp of its gravity. That's a start. As he opined to the press, "This sucker could go down".

[Mike Whitney, Internet commentator]