In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, President George W. Bush has warned that the US was in the midst of a grave financial crisis that could push the economy into a long-term recession if the government did not act. This address was aimed at generating public support for the $700 billion financial bailout being negotiated with Congress. Bush said his ‘natural instinct’ was to oppose government intervention in the financial sector, but in the current financial turmoil that was not possible.

Citing a market that was not functioning properly, a widespread loss of confidence and major financial sectors at risk of shutting down, Bush said: “I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances.”

Less than two hours before his speech, Bush had called up Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, inviting him to the White House on Thursday, for a meeting with congressional leaders and Republican nominee John McCain on the financial bailout package. The Bush administration and Congress have been trying to hammer out an agreement on a plan that would allow the government to step in and take illiquid loans from shaky Wall Street firms to address financial turmoil in the markets.

While McCain had already announced he would suspend his campaign and return to Washington, for the White House summit attempting to solve the crisis, Obama has also confirmed that he would now attend the White House meeting on Thursday. However, he has also stressed that the first presidential debate should go ahead as scheduled, in Mississippi University on Friday.

Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, after announcing that Obama had accepted the Bush invitation, said: “Senator Obama has been working all week with leaders in Congress, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, to improve this proposal, and he has said that he will continue to work in a bipartisan spirit and do whatever is necessary to come up with a final solution.”

As regards to Obama’s insistence to hold the presidential debate as per schedule, Burton said Obama also “strongly believes the debate should go forward on Friday so that the American people can hear from their next president about how he will lead America forward at this defining moment for our country.”