Bush seeks public support for bailout package

Expressing concern that the country faced economic ruin if the Congress did not act fast, President George W Bush on Thursday took his case on the financial bailout packet to the American people.

"The market is not functioning properly. There has been a widespread loss of confidence, and major sectors of country's financial system are at risk of shutting down. The government's top economic experts warn that, without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic," Bush said in a sombre mood in a nationally televised address today.

"I'm a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course, but these are not normal circumstances," the President warned.

The message by the President is seen as a step to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats and perhaps even more so within the Grand Old Party.

The blunt message capped a bizarre day in America -- law makers were still at odds over the bailout package, top administration officially frantically trying to convince a sceptical Congress of the urgency of the situation, the Republican nominee Senator John McCain breaking off his campaign and returning to Washington DC and calling on his Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama to delay the debates.

The Illinois Democrat saying that he is willing to sign on to a Joint Statement with Senator McCain on the crisis facing the country but standing his ground that there should be no postponement of the first debate scheduled for tomorrow in Mississippi.