WASHINGTON -- President Bush made a blunt appeal for passage of his financial rescue plan, saying "our entire economy is in danger" from market problems, and warning that the nation could experience "financial panic" and ultimately "a long and painful recession" if Congress doesn't move quickly.

The president tried to defuse widespread criticism of the $700 billion plan as a bailout of Wall Street, telling Americans in a prime-time televised address that the program "is aimed at preserving America's overall economy," not individual...