BETHESDA, Md. (Exaggerated Press) -- An increasingly irrelevant President Bush today told about a dozen public library patrons and workers that he expects the nation's faltering economy to soon rebound.
"I know things might appear bleak now, but wait until the federal stimulus package kicks in. I'm confident we'll turn this thing around," Bush said to the head librarian, a group of preschoolers gathered for story time, a woman thumbing through magazines while her car was being repaired at a nearby garage, a homeless man about to use the restroom to bathe and an automated check-out machine.
Pushed off the front pages by the economic downturn and the presidential campaign to determine his successor, the lame-duck president largely has been relegated to an afterthought by most Americans.
With the public's attention focused elsewhere, the unpopular Bush in recent weeks has taken his message directly to the people. The politically impotent commander-in-chief, for example, last week delivered a key speech on Iraq before mostly disinterested observers at a state prison in Virginia.
After imploring those in the library "crowd" to spend their upcoming tax rebates to boost the economy, Bush briefly took questions on the recovery plan.
The lone query came from a preschooler asking when the president would begin reading "Green Eggs and Ham." Bush assured the youngster that the country's long-term economic outlook was good.
Librarian Enid Melendez said she was startled when the presidential motorcade pulled up and Bush walked into the library.
"He asked if we would mind if he took a few minutes to deliver a major address on the economy," Melendez said. "He said he had just tried to speak at the all-you-can-eat Chinese place up the road, but the manager wouldn't let him unless his Secret Service entourage ordered the buffet."
Library policy requires anyone using the facility for a speaking engagement to do so in a basement activities room so as not to disturb other patrons.
Melendez waived that rule for Bush but said she didn't do it because he is president.
"We had some sewage back up in the basement last week, and it's still pretty gamy down there," she explained.
Asked for comment on Bush's impromptu appearance at the library, the woman thumbing through magazines expressed surprise.
"Oh, is that who that was?" she said. "I thought he looked a little familiar."
