| The White House President George W. Bush |
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Excerpts from the Press Gaggle by Trent Duffy, December 30, 2003 (Full Transcript)
QUESTION: Today's economic indicators trend. We have the -- consumer confidence was down, the manufacturing index in Chicago was down, existing home sales were down. What is the White House interpretation of that data?MR. DUFFY: Well, we'll continue to look at all the economic indicators as they come in. Other economic indicators have been positive -- obviously the 8.2 percent growth in the third quarter, the fact that the economy has produced near 300,000 jobs, the fact that retailers are seeing signs of the tax relief working and the American people actually spending the tax relief that was passed.
So the economic indicators need to be viewed in the larger context of the overall economic recovery. It's something that the President remains very focused on, and that he will continue to work towards more job creation and making sure that this recovery takes root.