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Bush Asks World Leaders For Patience In Fiscal Crunch

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The Washington Post

Published: October 27, 2008

WASHINGTON - In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy has loudly proclaimed the need to increase regulation and oversight of financial markets, vowing last week to "refound the global financial system" as part of "an intellectual and moral revolution."

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown - who has set up an economic "war room" at 10 Downing Street - moved ahead of the United States to inject cash into private banks and is leading calls for global accounting standards and stronger oversight of international banking.

President Bush, by comparison, has been more wary in his public remarks as the crisis on Wall Street has grown into a global panic. The departing U.S. president has agreed to hold a global economic summit in Washington on Nov. 15 but has stopped short of endorsing the kind of far-reaching international proposals put forward by Brown, Sarkozy and others.

Instead, Bush has emphasized caution and is urging leaders to view any financial reforms as a way to "preserve democratic capitalism" rather than restrain it.

The contrast underscores the clashes that could erupt as Bush and other leaders hammer out a global response to the collapse of lending markets. The differences are emerging as markets continue to slide on worsening news, including new data showing that Britain's economy has contracted for the first time in 16 years.

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