Oct 12, 2008 7:20 am US/Eastern
Bush Meets Foreign Financial Leaders In D.C.
Palin, Obama, McCain Continue Campaigns' Final Month
(CBS)
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President Bush, Federal Reserve Ben Berneke (L) and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson take part in a G20 Session at the IMF on Oct. 11, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
With the economic crisis now a clearly global one, President Bush spent Saturday meeting with leaders from the world's richest countries.
No new strategies were announced, but nations are promising to work in unison to try and stem the crisis.
"We are in this together," Bush said. "We will come through it together."
The Rresident spoke at the Rose Garden after meeting privately with financial leaders from a dozen nations and monetary organizations.
It was just one of several meetings in the nation's capital today to address the global economic turmoil.
The International Monetary Fund threw its support behind a G7 pledge, issued yesterday, to work together to prevent more bank failures and fight the credit crisis.
"This is a commitment by the international community that because the crisis is global," Youssef Boutros-Ghali, chairman of the IMF committee, said. "The solution cannot be local."
In the United States, there are more signs the economy is shaping this year's election.
As financial conditions worsen, Barack Obama has been gaining support.
An average of polls show Obama has a 7-point lead over John McCain.
Senator McCain has started moving away from personal attacks and focusing more on financial issues. He campaigned Saturday in Iowa.
"I called for tighter restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could have helped prevent this crisis from happening in the first place, McCain said. "My opponent was silent."
There was yet another awkward moment tonight for his running mate Sarah Palin.
To a mixture of boos and cheers, the self-proclaimed hockey mom dropped the ceremonial first puck at the Philadelphia Flyer's home opener against the Rangers.
Obama spent the day in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, holding four rallies all over Philadelphia.
"When it comes to the economy, and what families here in Pennsylvania are going through, Senator McCain just doesn't get it," Obama said.
Also on Saturday, President Bush paid an unexpected visit to the IMF headquarters to stress to finance ministers the severity of the situation.
The financial world is sure to play a major role in the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday. You can watch it live from Hofstra University on Long Island beginning at 9 p.m. on CBS 2.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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