Bush: Decision on autos "relatively soon"

U.S. President George W. Bush makes remarks on national security, homeland security, and the freedom agenda at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, December 17, 2008.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday a decision on bailing out the teetering U.S. auto industry needs to be made "relatively soon" and that he was looking at all options.

"I'm thinking through, you know," Bush told Fox News Channel in an interview in Pennsylvania after a speech at the U.S. Army War College. "It needs to get done relatively soon."

Bush has said he is considering tapping a $700 billion financial industry bailout fund to aid General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.

"I'm looking at all options. Two principles by which I'm making this decision is ... a disorganized failure, disorganized bankruptcy or disorderly bankruptcy would cause, could cause great harm to the economy -- beyond that which we're now witnessing," Bush said when asked how an automaker bankruptcy could affect his legacy.

"And that concerns me. And the other point is that ... I'm not interested in, in really putting good money after bad," Bush added. "So it's ... an issue that I'm thinking through."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)