Obama Promises Quick Action On Economy

President-Elect Calls For New Stimulus Package, Says U.S. Is Facing "Greatest Economic Challenge Of Our Lifetime"

(CBS/AP)  President-elect Obama said Friday that the country is facing the greatest economic challenge in a lifetime and "we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it."

In his first news conference since winning the presidency Tuesday, Mr. Obama said Congress must pass an economic stimulus measure either before or just after he takes office in January. He also said unemployment benefits need to be extended.

But he deferred to President Bush and his economic team on major decisions in the coming weeks.

"The United States has only one government and one president at a time," Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama spoke after he and Vice President-elect Joe Biden met privately with economic experts to discuss ways to stabilize the troubled economy. Biden, the advisers and Mr. Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, stood behind him as he spoke for 20 minutes from a podium that said "the Office of the President Elect" at a hotel in his home town.

Mr. Obama calmly fielded questions about the economy, Iran and his family's search for a pet dog. No matter the question, he replied with caution - and one flash of self-deprecating humor when discussing the dog.

His family is looking for a dog that will not trigger his daughter Malia's allergies. Ideally, he said it would come from an animal rescue shelter, but "obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."

The economic crisis, however, dominated the news conference, and Mr. Obama said, "I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead."

More evidence of a recession came Friday when the government reported that the unemployment rate had jumped from 6.1 percent in September to 6.5 percent in October. Despite dour third-quarter reports from Ford and General Motors, stocks rose some after two days of heavy losses.

His transition to power and early days in office, if not the entire first year of his presidency, almost certainly will be devoted to finding ways to revive the dismal economy.

"Immediately after I become president I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity," Mr. Obama said.

He said his focus would be on producing jobs and mentioned actions to help the auto industry and small business and aid for state and local governments so they aren't forced to lay off workers or raise taxes.

"Some of the choices that we're going to make are going to be difficult," Mr. Obama said. "It is not going to be quick. It's not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the whole that we are in." But he said he was confident the country could do it.

Mr. Obama also left the door open to the possibility economic conditions might prompt him to change his tax plan that would give a break to most families but raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 annually.

"I think that the plan that we've put forward is the right one, but, obviously, over the next several weeks and months, we're going to be continuing to take a look at the data and see what's taking place in the economy as a whole," Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama told reporters that he's confident that "a new president can have an enormous impact."

On other topics, Mr. Obama said:

He will review a letter from Iran's leader and respond appropriately. It's not something "that we should simply do in a knee-jerk fashion," he said. Mr. Obama said he wants to be careful to send the signal to the world that "I'm not the president and I won't be until Jan. 20."

He will move with all deliberate haste to fill Cabinet posts. He said when he chose Emanuel as chief of staff: "We thought it through" and he wants to do the same with other top appointees to avoid making mistakes.

Mr. Obama said he appreciated the cooperation Mr. Bush has offered in smoothing his transition to the White House and the Republican's "commitment that his economic policy team keep us informed." He expressed gratitude to Mr. Bush for inviting him and his wife, Michelle, to the White House on Monday.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, Mr. Obama said he expected to have a substantive conversation with Mr. Bush at that time and that "I am not going to anticipate problems."

As he prepares to join an exclusive club of presidents, Mr. Obama said: "I've spoken to all of them that are living" and has reread some of President Lincoln's writings.

Mr. Obama and Biden met before the news conference with the transition economic advisory board, a high-powered collection of business, academic and government leaders. They included Lawrence Summers, who some have mentioned as a candidate for Treasury secretary, a post he held in the Clinton administration; Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose state has been hit hard by losses in the auto industry; Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

"No question, we've got a critical economic situation," said Lawrence Summers, a Treasury secretary under President Clinton, said on CBS News' The Early Show.

"I would hope that next year we will start to see a turn, but again, these problems were not made quickly, Summers added. "They're not going to be fixed overnight but what we need is to move aggressively but, at the same time, be steadfast.

Other participants in the meeting included executives from Xerox Corp., Time Warner Inc.; and the Hyatt hotel company. Investor Warren Buffett called in by telephone.

Mr. Obama has been meeting privately with his transition team, receiving congratulatory phone calls from U.S. allies and intelligence briefings, and making decisions about who will help run his government.

His first choice, for White House chief of staff, was Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan unafraid of breaking glass and hurting feelings. The choice of Emanuel is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" surrounded himself with during the campaign. And transition chief John Podesta, like Emanuel, is a former top aide to President Clinton and a tough partisan infighter, though less bombastic than the new chief of staff.

The selections are telling for Mr. Obama, who campaigned as a nontraditional, almost "post-partisan" newcomer. People close to him say the selections show he is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and knows what he needs to be successful as he shifts from campaigning to governing.

One person frequently mentioned for a Cabinet post, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, will not be available until 2011, officials close to him said Friday. Rendell has two years left of his term, and Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, a Democrat, is ailing. Next in line to be governor is the Republican president pro tempore the state Senate.

Rather than take the chance that the GOP would gain control of the governor's office, Rendell has signaled he will stay put for the time being.

On Friday morning, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended a parent-teacher conference at the University of Chicago Lab School where their daughters, Malia and Sasha, are students.

Mr. Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout on news announcements so he and his staff can rest after the grueling campaign. He is planning a family getaway to Hawaii in December before they move to the White House, and to honor his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died Sunday at her home there.

[hitoyou1]

Obama should not let anyone bailout the big 3. Let them go down. Shut the door. The big 3 and the uaw need to go, they make junk, and will always make junk. Any money they get is gone. No one will every see it. I take that back, the CEO''s will get it.

[cheteunice]

To paraphrase Mrs. Obama, for the first time in my life I fear for the future of the U.S.A.

[cheteunice]

standlee5, What about the governmental subsidizes and low wages with which foreign companies work?

[cheteunice]

Obama has promised all kinds of thins--he had been start delivering on January 20th! I think that he will not have a very good report card after 100 days!

[rhs648]

How can US automakers compete with all that baggage hanging over their head.

Posted by standlee5

Most other car-producing countries have single-payer health insurance.

Without it, we are fighting with both hands tied behind our backs.

Posted by doorgunner2

But what is the advantage of a single-payer health insurer? Is it going to be less expernsive? Is it going to provide better coverage? What are the details. Does anyone know how we will benefit? You can cover everyone without a single payer. Are we throwing the baby out with the bath water? These are only a few of the questions.

[misha128-2009]

Posted by FromTexwLove at 04:55 AM

First Obama promised to pursue Bin Laden anywhere including Pakistan if credible intelligence existed and the local government was unwilling or unable to act.

The election is over and senator McCain is still keeping that secret plan to get Bin Laden a secret. How much longer will he protect enemies of the US for political gain? Is he waiting for four more years to run again?

[downtowner97]

Add to the $850 billion bailout the $25 bailout already given to the car companies while McCain was holding his breath and talking about skipping the second debate. That''s nearly a trillion dollars, boys and girls. Now do some math to see how much each of us went into debt on that trillion. $1,000,000,000,000 divided by 300 million American men, women and children equals $3,333. Now what if the banks and car companies were allowed to fail, but each citizen in the country was able to walk up to a government office, show ID, and get $3,333 for themselves and each of their children. What would that kind of "economic stimulus" do for the country? That would pay 3 late house payments, buy some new tools, pay for a few college courses, buy food for months, or at worst, buy some shiny new toys. I''d rather have the check, myself.

[rhs648]

In with the new and out with the old. It was interesting to note that the people Obama met with to discuss economic policy served presidents in the 1970''s, 1980''s, 1990''s, and the 2000''s. It will be interesting if any new ideas emerge or whether we follow the tried and true methods of the past. Also, it appeared that there was only one black person other than Obama at the meeting. If Obama doesn''t start appointing blacks to responsible positions, how long will blacks be happy? We made history and this will be quite an experiment.

[tibu987]

Government bailouts are not the solution.

Let the chips fall where they may and we will rebuild and be stronger than ever.

Bailing out Ford, GM, and/or Chrysler will only let them continue producing cars that are not popular with Americans.

Let them fail, let the bosses walk away with millions of dollars and what will happen is that others will come along building better cars than the Big 3 ever did.

Is it the governments (us) job to bail out all failing large companies? I think not.

[irmcvet97]

I think he should bail-out the car companies but the legacy costs of the automakers are outrageous. The retirees of the great generation have to see that they''''re breaking the bank. They''''ve got pensions, social security, medicare. It''''s all taking a toll on society. Govt. pensions and union pensions are killing us. How can US automakers compete with all that baggage hanging over their head.

Posted by standlee5 at 08:15 PM : Nov 08, 2008

Why are they "Breaking the Bank"? Was it something THEY did? Or was it VERY stupid decisions made by Politician''s who actually BELIEVED that CEO''s would make decisions that were just and fair for their employees? Those people and ALL American Workers have EARNED their Pension''s and Health Insurance. Can you or anyone else name me ONE of the G-7 Nations that has treated it''s workers like this nation? It''s a disgrace and it HAS to stop. This rush to the Bottom is NOT what our fathers fought WW II for. They MOST certainly didn''t fight it so American Workers would have to compete with 30 Cents a DAY wages. ENOUGH!!

[popstom12]

If it was my kid that so called teacher would be hung
from the nearest tree

[standlee5]

I think he should bail-out the car companies but the legacy costs of the automakers are outrageous. The retirees of the great generation have to see that they''re breaking the bank. They''ve got pensions, social security, medicare. It''s all taking a toll on society. Govt. pensions and union pensions are killing us. How can US automakers compete with all that baggage hanging over their head.

[standlee5]

I hope president elect obama will make it plain that accountability is the word of the day. For everyone. Business, Government and Individuals. Anyone defrauding tax payers or wasting tax payer dollars will be held accountable.

[hitoyou1]

mydogdylan6: What are you talking about? Do you know? I don''t think so. Go drink some more beer, and go to bed.

[mydogdylan6]

Watch a public school teach browbeat an 11 year old girl who supports McCain
====================
Then a large black man carved a "B" on the girls face

It works both ways. When millions of people are involved, there''s always going to be some idiots.

[mydogdylan6]

Ever notice the only people that refer to Obama as "Messiah" are Republicans and Farrakhan?

I always knew they had a lot in common.

[hitoyou1]

capital punishment. He should make it easy to give people death.

[hitoyou1]

If he lets anyone bailout the car companies he needs to give the office up. Let them go DOWN. No more MONEY
for anyone. If you can''t make it, close up.

[jaack2]

If America wants to be seen as a civilised society, as soon as sen.Obama takes over the Whitehouse he should pass legislation against two of the greatest stains on America''s character i.e. he should close Guantanamo and ban capital punishment.

In due course he should also set up a wide ranging enquiry into how America came to illegally attack and slaughter tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens and cause the deaths of almost five thousand US and other troops.

[jtreynolds2]

Did you watch the video?