“I think for the most part the administration is doing the right thing in addressing the economic problems we have,” said Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York. “But I think tactically it would be better if the president himself was more out front, rather than leaving it so much to Paulson. When there is a perceived national crisis, it’s important for the president to be the point man.”

Still, because the public has little faith in Mr. Bush, it may be tough for him to be the point man on the economy, even with a Harvard business degree. Just 25 percent of the public approves of the way Mr. Bush is handling the economy, a figure even lower than his overall job approval rating, a CBS News Poll in mid-March found.

So it is no wonder, some Republicans say, that Mr. Bush is letting others do the talking.

“The good news for Bush is he’s got Paulson, who’s got some real credibility on these issues,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist. “Paulson is doing a pretty good job of looking like he’s doing something.”

Other presidents have tried, with varying degrees of success, to use their platforms in tough economic times. Franklin D. Roosevelt famously used his fireside chats to calm a nation traumatized by the Great Depression. But Gerald R. Ford was ridiculed for his WIN buttons (Whip Inflation Now), as was Jimmy Carter, with his call to set thermostats at 68 degrees.

Mr. Bush, by contrast, has been loath to sound downbeat. He has yet to use the word “recession,” for instance. Two months ago, he drew praise for bringing together Republicans and Democrats on an economic stimulus package including rebates for taxpayers. (The checks will go out in May.)

But he has resisted calls from the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to hold a top-level bipartisan economic meeting to address the growing mortgage crisis.

Image Gerald R. Ford, pushed his WIN program to combat inflation in 1974. Credit... Associated Press

That may be for philosophical reasons. As he said on Wall Street, Mr. Bush is not a fan of a government bailout for those who took risks in the marketplace.