Bush calls for confidence in 'anxious time'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush urged Americans on Friday to resist feelings of "uncertainty and fear" in the economic crisis and assured them his administration is working to solve the problem.

"Over the past few days we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market, much of it driven by uncertainty and fear," Bush said in brief remarks from the White House Rose Garden.

"This is an anxious time. But the American people can be confident in our economic future. We know what the problems are. We have the tools to fix them. And we're working swiftly to do so," he said.

Addressing mounting fears over tumbling markets worldwide, the president outlined the government's $700 billion bailout plan, calling for patience while the package runs its course. Watch as Bush attempts to reassure Americans »

"Here's what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets," he said. "Anxiety can feed anxiety, and that can make it hard to see all that is being done to solve the problem."

Bush spoke after the market opened Friday in a free fall, with the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 700 points before recovering hundreds of points.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite also suffered early losses Friday morning.

Investors have been pulling money out of stock mutual funds as the worldwide financial crisis has deepened. A full $43.3 billion was taken out during the week ending October 8. That amount is on top of the $7.2 billion investors hoarded during the previous week.

Finance officials from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are set to meet Friday in Washington to address the financial meltdown.

Since September 15, the day financial giant Lehman Brothers failed, the president has commented on the nation's financial health 27 times, either through written, radio or on-camera statements.

In the latest CNN Opinion Research Corp. poll, 26 percent of Americans expressed confidence in the president's ability to handle the financial crisis, compared with 52 percent for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has been Bush's point man on the crisis.

On Friday, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain also weighed in on the market crisis by proposing the suspension of a requirement that investors begin dissolving their IRAs and 401(k)s after they turn 70.

"Current rules mandate that investors must begin to sell off their IRAs and 401(k)s when they reach age 70 and one half," McCain told a crowd at a campaign event in La Crosse, Wisconsin. "To spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time when the market is hurting the most, those rules should be suspended."

Earlier this week, McCain unveiled a $300 billion plan for the government to purchase mortgages at full value from banks and directly renegotiate the terms with homeowners.

The plan has drawn criticism from economists and Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, which said it would mean major profits for lenders while saddling taxpayers with the cost.

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