George W. Bush: at the top of his game?

The message out of the White House lately: President Bush is on top of things.

Take today for instance. Canceling a trip to Topeka where he was supposed to be the headliner at congressional fundraiser (he sent First Lady Laura Bush instead), the president left the White House at 7 a.m. to fly to Houston for a briefing on damage from Hurricane Ike. Then he took an aerial tour of the region, and got a briefing at Galveston Emergency Operations Center. He explained his role:

I'm now asking questions about how the federal government can help the response and help the recovery effort begin. One thing is, is that we have decided to match 100% or pay 100% with no state match for debris removal as well as the emergency preparedness that the state and local government have put in place and executed.

Then it was back to the White House in time to make a 3:30 p.m. meeting with his working group on financial markets, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

But, concerned about roiling the already-skittish markets, the White House decided not to allow pool coverage of the president's meeting with the team. Explained spokesman Tony Fratto:

We decided it would be best to limit public comment about markets today, and so there will not be press coverage of the president’s working group meeting this afternoon.  The president looks forward to the briefing by the working group.

Added press secretary Dana M. Perino:

The president was briefed this afternoon by his working group on financial markets. He appreciates their work to strengthen and stabilize the markets.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: N. Smiley/EPA