While the new president is still unknown, we still have someone who can speak for us!
President Bush said Saturday he will host an international summit in response to the global financial crisis, but said that any reform of financial systems must not chip away at the foundations of democratic capitalism and free enterprise.
Bush, meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, did not set a date or place for the meeting.
In a statement Saturday night, however, the three leaders said it would happen sometime after the U.S. presidential election in early November. They also said the meeting could be the first of a series aimed at addressing the global financial crisis.
The goal of the first meeting, they said, would be "to review progress being made to address the current crisis and to seek agreement on principles of reform needed to avoid a repetition and assure global prosperity in the future." Later summits would seek agreement on "specific steps to be taken to meet those principles," according to the statement.
Separately, Bush said the summit attendees must be open to ideas from around the world, but he said nations should avoid protectionism.
