Bush is missing in action during the biggest financial crisis ever!

From Ed Henry and Elaine Quijano
CNN White House Correspondents

NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Bush will deliver a prime-time televised speech Wednesday night to pressure Congress to pass a $700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street, the White House announced.


President Bush will address the nation Wednesday night about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday that the Wall Street crisis is the worst the nation has faced since the end of World War II and urged Congress to take action on a proposed bailout package.

But members of Congress -- including some of Bush's fellow Republicans -- are skeptical of the plan drafted by Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Bush's speech is set to begin at 9:01 p.m. ET and will take just less than 15 minutes.

Minutes before the speech was announced, the Democratic leader in the Senate blasted Bush, accusing him of being "absent from what may well be the most important debate on economic policy in a generation."

"Where is President Bush?" Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada demanded on the Senate floor. "President Bush has sent Congress an unprecedented $700 billion bailout proposal -- $700 billion straight from the pockets of every single man, woman and child in America.

"It is time for him to explain how his plan, drafted literally under the cover of darkness, will help America weather this storm."

Congress is considering whether to allow Paulson to use federal funds to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related securities and other assets that have caused turbulence on Wall Street and have undermined credit markets worldwide.

Paulson and Bernanke faced deeply skeptical senators Tuesday, and are pitching their plan to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the White House said failure to pass the bailout package was "unthinkable."

"Every business, every employer, and, so, every employee in America depends every day on the flow of money coming through our financial system to sustain their normal business operations," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

House Republicans met with Paulson behind closed doors and with Vice President Dick Cheney, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Keith Hennessey, the president's top economic adviser.

Indiana Republican Mike Pence, a leading House conservative said, "There is growing discontent among House Republicans."

Conservative Republicans, in particular, have expressed doubts about the bailout, saying it is a departure from the free market principles.

Leaving the meeting with Cheney, Georgia Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey told reporters, "Hardly anybody in that room has made up their mind exactly on how they are going to vote on this."

When asked if he thought a presidential address would help pass the bailout, Rep. John Boehner, the top Republican in the House, replied, "They need to make that call," referring to the White House.

Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, chairman of the GOP conference, said "no one has the bully pulpit" like the president.