In step and out in the open, President Bush thanks Paulson's Treasury for bailout work

The heavy lifting completed, President Bush thanked Treasury Department employees this afternoon for their work in securing completion of the $700-billion legislation intended to stabilize the credit market and the broader economy.

Shunning a secure tunnel connecting the White House with the Treasury, but staying within the secured confines of the White House-Treasury complex, he crossed a driveway between the two buildings and climbed a flight of stone steps before ducking into the building with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.

Praising Treasury workers for their efforts with Congress and the financial markets in the United States and abroad, he later told reporters: "Sometimes people in government never get thanked enough for all the hours they keep."

And how is Paulson, whose furor was carved across his face on Monday when the House rejected the bill...

...feeling this afternoon?

"Better," he conceded.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photos: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press (top). Alex Wong / Getty Images (bottom).