BushCo on Whether the Country is in a Recession: 'Don't Know'

Today, reporters questioned White House Press Secretary Dana Perino on whether the U.S. economy is now in a recession. Perino, however, was unable to answer and became frustrated when reporters continued to push her:

Q Do you think the U.S. economy is in a recession?

MS. PERINO: You know I don't think that we know. ... So I couldn't say. The classic definition of a recession is not something that we could determine now, or forecast. It's something that people look back on. [...]

I don't know -- look, April, I don't know if there's -- if we are in a recession right now. And in fact, there's no one who could actually tell you if we precisely are in a recession right now. [...]

But I don't think anybody could tell you right now if we're in a recession or not. Those are just -- those are determinations that come later.

Watch it:

President Bush and his administration have long resisted admitting that the economy is in trouble by quibbling about the technical definition of "recession."