Running out the clock.
Even if Bush knew how to solve this problem, he couldn't. He's a lame duck and could never get any cooperation to do anything meaningful about it. As in any administration on its last legs, the trick now is to just keep everything from unravelling until the election, so the next guy will have to deal with it. The FNG, whether Rep or Dem, is going to get blamed for this, not to mention whatever happens in Iraq.
I do have to hand it to GWB, though. He's not trying to Hoover his way out of this. At least he admits the economy is sucking canal water.