U.S. should expect tough couple of months: Lazear

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's too early to know the full impact of the financial crisis on the U.S. economy, "but we must expect the next couple of months to be tough ones," White House economic adviser Edward Lazear said on Tuesday.

"This is a huge shock and not one we can easily shake off," Lazear said in a speech to the National Association of Business Economists, adding he expected the White House Council of Economic Advisers to lower its economic growth forecast.

Lazear told the group he expected the Bush administration to roll out operational details of the recently approved $700 billion financial sector bailout package in coming weeks.

The administration's main goal is to free up investment funds to bolster economic growth, he said.

There is tension between the need to act quickly and the importance of creating a properly designed program that does not waste taxpayers' funds, he said.

"I would rather have it wait a day or two and get it right," Lazear said.

But "we have been thinking about this for a while," so already have some plans in place, he said.

Lazear said he was confident the bailout package was large enough to deal with the troubled assets that have caused the financial crisis.

"We think Plan A is going to work," Lazear said, when asked by reporters what other steps the government might need to take if the bailout plan fails.

The financial market rescue package will help prevent what could have been a decade of economic "malaise," even though the next few months could be tough, Lazear said.

(Editing by James Dalgleish)