Perino: Impossible to say if country is in a recession

The White House said Tuesday that it is impossible to say if the country’s economy is facing the “classic definition” of a recession, as global markets continued to wrestle with uncertainty and bad news.

White House press secretary Dana Perino, who along with Bush has resisted using the word "recession" for months, said regardless of the terminology, the president is well-aware of the financial pain the credit squeeze is causing families.

{mosads}When asked if the country is in a recession, Perino said: “I don’t know.

“The classic definition of a recession is not something we could determine now,” Perino said.

She added that the media “should be careful about throwing words like that around,” but also noted that the next quarter will likely bring more bad news.

“It's not going to be anything to write home about,” she stated. “Obviously, the next quarter is probably not going to be a very good one.”

Perino briefed reporters shortly before Bush was scheduled to address employees of Guernsey Office Products and other local businesses in Chantilly, Va., about the rescue package and other economic factors.

Perino said Monday's dramatic drop in the Dow was a result of global markets feeling jittery about the situation here, adding that “the pain is going to be spread outside the United States.”

The Federal Reserve on Monday announced the formation of a new fund that will lend money directly to businesses, a move Perino said is “part of a pattern we’ve seen, that the Fed continues to find innovative ways to get the markets going again.”

Perino said government agencies are working quickly to implement the $700 billion rescue package, but noted that putting staff in place to do so is going to take some time.

“The Treasury and the Federal Reserve are working day and night to make sure we do this right and not just do it quickly,” she said.