WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to pump up the nation’s confidence, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Wall Street has been hammered so hard that “buying stocks is a potentially good deal,” and he dispatched top aides to Capitol Hill to defend his plans for pulling the economy out of its deep recession. The stock market slipped ever lower, and Republicans suggested Obama was “cooking the books” in rosy recovery predictions. After being accused for weeks of being too negative about the economy, Obama recently has shifted to a more positive tone. He and his aides still say recovery won’t come quickly, but they are becoming more aggressive in declaring that the government’s efforts will work.–Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]