Bush Accepts Some Blame for Economy in a New Hampshire Campaign Stop
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- A penitent George Bush made his first re-election campaign appearance in New Hampshire and accepted part of the blame for the "free fall" in the nation's economy.</br></br>"I think I've known this economy is in free fall," President Bush told New Hampshire business and community leaders assembled in a drafty hangar at an abandoned Air Force base here. "Maybe I have not conveyed it as well as I should," he said, "but I do understand it."</br></br>The president also said that while interest rates are "at a wonderful level, I'd like to see them down further, frankly." He added that he believed the lower rates "will kick in and will stimulate investment."</br></br>Voters in recession-ravaged New Hampshire are angry, and many of them are paying heed to conservative columnist and commentator Patrick Buchanan, Mr. Bush's Republican rival in the U.S.'s first presidential primary Feb. 18. "New Hampshire," the president conceded, "has gone through hell."</br></br>Mr. Bush spent 12 hours in the state, making six appearances, trying to convince New Hampshire voters that he understands their problems, cares about their welfare, and is planning programs he will outline in his State of the Union address Jan. 28 to alleviate their burdens.