Darman Optimistic on Economy: President Bush’s budget...

Darman Optimistic on Economy: President Bush’s budget director, Richard Darman, said the economy is beginning its recovery from the recession but would not predict how strong or how long the recovery would prove to be. Interviewed on NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” Darman said, “Right now we are in this moment in the process of turning, and we are about to be headed up. . . . We are coming out of the recession.” He predicted that the budget deficit will ease slightly in the coming year to less than $300 billion but not enough below the earlier estimate of $318 billion to allow an increase in government spending.