President George W. Bush sought to calm US fears about the troubled economy last night in his final State of the Union address.
Bush waves as he leaves the podium after his final State of the Union address
With the threat of recession supplanting the Iraq war as the public's top concern, Mr Bush acknowledged that growth was slowing but insisted that the country's long-term economic fundamentals were sound.
He urged Congress to act quickly on a $150 billion economic stimulus package laid out last week.
"In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth. But in the short run, we can all see that growth is slowing," Mr Bush said in his televised speech to the US Congress.
Mr Bush touted security gains in Iraq he attributed to a troop build-up he ordered last January and said that any further draw-down of forces would depend on his commanders' recommendations.
He also renewed his call for Iran to stop enriching uranium and to "come clean" about its nuclear intentions. "Our message to the leaders of Iran is also clear: verifiably suspend your nuclear enrichment, so negotiations can begin," Mr Bush said.
Politically weakened by the unpopular war in Iraq, eclipsed by the race to choose his successor and scrambling to stave off lame-duck status, Mr Bush presented no bold new ideas in his seventh State of the Union address.
At the top of his speech agenda was a $150 billion stimulus package meant to avert recession in an economy suffering from high oil prices and a housing slump.
He is trying to head off attempts by some Senate Democrats to expand the plan beyond the tax rebates and business investment incentives agreed with House of Representatives leaders last week.
Sandwiched between last Saturday's Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina and Tuesday's Republican contest in Florida, Mr Bush will struggle to make himself heard above the growing din of the 2008 election campaign, however.