White House Standing Pat

President George Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday downplayed the need to stimulate the economy beyond existing measures in the face of recession fears and weak economic data.

As the stock market has tanked in its 2008 debut and investors and economists increasingly fret about recession, Bush urged that Congress make temporary tax cuts enacted by his administration permanent, while he and Paulson, in a separate speech, heralded plans to help some homeowners caught in the burgeoning mortgage crisis as the best possible remedies for the economy's woes.

"We have a strong foundation in our economy," Bush said in a speech to business leaders in Chicago. "But we can't take economic growth for granted." ...