"I had to abandon free market principles in order to save the free market system"

This quote by George W. Bush speaks to the idea that in some cases, in order to safeguard a system, it is required to abandon the principles that the system is based on. In this case, Bush is referring to the free market system, which is based on the principles of free trade and competitors. However, in order to save the free market system, Bush needed to desert these concepts and act to protect the system from collapse. This could consist of federal government intervention in the kind of bailouts, stimulus bundles, and other procedures to stabilize the economy. By taking these steps, Bush was able to protect the free enterprise system, even if it meant deserting the concepts that it was based on.