White House Denies Bush Pushed for Trade Agreement in Meeting With Obama

"Looking forward to that lame-duck session, aren't we?" Bush joked.

Perino told reporters that Bush spoke with Obama "about the merits of free trade in hopes that the next administration will recognize that not only is that good for our businesses -- especially if you want to create jobs, one of the best ways to do that is to open up new markets for our businesses and our entrepreneurs."

The White House and Democrats are maneuvering in advance of a possible lame-duck session that could focus in part on new aid for the struggling auto industry. Obama asked Bush on Monday to support immediate financial aid for auto companies, and Perino did not shut the door on that possibility.

Perino made clear the administration's view that the $700 billion rescue plan approved earlier this fall does not allow for financial assistance for businesses outside the financial industry. But she said the White House is open to considering suggestions for accelerating $25 billion in low-interest loans for the auto industry that have already been approved by Congress.

"We understand that they're going through a very difficult time," Perino said of the auto industry. "There's been business decisions they've made over the years that have led to this situation, but we have gone as far as we can with the authority Congress has given us in order to help industries. We rushed through those regulations to write the rules so that they could apply for those loans."

She added: " If they believe that that's not enough for them, they need to continue to work with Democrats, and then we'll see what they can come forward with." Bush is marking Veterans Day in New York City, where he helicoptered to the flight deck of the USS Intrepid, the aircraft carrier that is now a museum on the west side of Manhattan.

Joined by former astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Scott Carpenter and New York dignitaries such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Bush helped rededicate the museum after a two-year, $120 million refurbishment. During a private tour, Bush got a close look at a TBM Avenger, the kind of bomber his father piloted when he was shot down in World War II.

Afterward, Bush was warmly received by a crowd filled with veterans and their families, and two of the speakers pointedly praised him for helping to prevent another terrorist attack in the United States during the past seven years.

Acknowledging one of those speakers, country singer John Rich of Texas, Bush said, "John, tell them we're coming home, and we're coming home with our heads held high." On the stage with Bush was Marine Lance Cpl. Matt Bradford, who lost both of his legs and his sight in Iraq and who previously met the president while a patient at Brooke Army Medical Center. When they last met, Bradford scaled a 35-foot rock wall, earning plaudits from the commander in chief.

"The war on terror has required courage; it has required resolve equal to what previous generations of Americans brought to the fields of Europe and the deep waters of the Pacific," Bush said. "And I'm proud to report to my fellow citizens, our armed forces, the armed forces of this generation, have showed up for the fight, and America is more secure for it."

Bush grew nostalgic during Tuesday's appearance, telling his audience that he is often asked what he will miss most when he leaves office in January.

"[My] first reaction is, I say, no traffic jams in New York," Bush said. "The truth of the matter is I will miss being the commander in chief of such a fabulous group of men and women -- those who wear the uniform of the United States military."

Washington Post staff writer William Branigin contributed to this article.