Karen Hughes: Bush rescued the economy

By David Edwards and Gavin Dahl George W. Bush rescued the economy from collapse, according to Karen Hughes. Bush's former campaign director attacked President Barack Obama on NBC Sunday, defending the record of her former boss on the economy.

Speaking about Obama's successes, journalist Mark Halperin praised the current president's handling of the economy. "He's done, I think, an extraordinary job running the government under difficult circumstances. He managed the economic crisis, kept the world from going into depression," said Halperin.

But Hughes quickly took objection to Halperin's assessment. "I have to disagree with you, Mark, about rescuing the economy," she said. "I think that happened before President Bush left office when they took the action that they did on TARP and the banks have now repaid much of that money but that's what stabilized the economy and prevented the collapse of the financial system."

Hughes proudly carried the torch for the forgetful right-wing Sunday. "2009 was the year of the greatest anxiety I've ever seen among the American people," she claimed.

"People were worried, they felt they were at the whim of these big forces beyond their control," she pointed out.

Of course, before Bush launched the invasion of Iraq, anti-war activists held the largest single day of demonstrations in world history on Feb. 15, 2003. Bush responded that he wouldn't listen to special interests and the US military has been in Iraq ever since.

Upon entering the paid speaking tour market last fall, Bush drew harsh criticism for insisting the marketplace is "fair."

“The marketplace works," Bush remarked. "It is fair. It is equitable. It is a fair form of democracy.” Looks like now Hughes is trying to help keep his motivational speaking schedule booked.

This video is from NBC's Meet the Press, broadcast Jan. 17, 2010.