Bush Sees Rebate Checks Offsetting 'Slowdown'

Again steering clear of the R-word, President Bush said today that the tax rebates scheduled to be distributed starting next week will "give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown," Bloomberg reports.

"It's obvious our economy is in a slowdown," Bush said before leaving the White House to spend the day in Connecticut. "This money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we're seeing at the gas pump and at the grocery store." (More economic stimulus package stories.)