Obama Pledges to Confront Economic Crisis 'Head On'

Barack Obama pledged Friday to "confront this economic crisis head on" as soon as he is sworn in as the country's 44th president.

But the president-elect also warned of a tough road ahead during his first press conference since Election Day, held in Chicago just minutes after meeting with a team of top economic advisers.

"It is not going to be quick. It is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in," Obama said. "But America is a strong and resilient country, and I know we will succeed."

Obama stressed the need to extend unemployment benefits, stimulate job growth and reduce the number of foreclosures, and he pressed for Congress to pass a new stimulus package "sooner rather than later."

"If it does not get done in a lame duck session, it will be the first thing I get done as president of the United States," Obama said.

He also deferred to President Bush, saying "we only have one president at a time." He said he appreciated Bush's commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and said he was "grateful" Bush invited him and his wife, Michelle Obama, to the White House on Monday.

Obama spoke after he and Vice President-elect Joe Biden convened a meeting of the transition economic advisory board, a high-powered group 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.

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Rahm Emanuel, who will be Obama's White House chief of staff, also participated in the meeting.
Other participants in the meeting included executives from Xerox Corp., Time Warner Inc.; and the Hyatt hotel company. Investor Warren Buffett was calling in by telephone.

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.

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.

One person frequently mentioned for a Cabinet post, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, will not be available until 2011, say officials close to him. 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, 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. The couple planned to visit the White House on Monday at President Bush's invitation.

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 and the rush of Tuesday night's victory. 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.

Obama, who bested Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, has made it clear he will rely heavily on veterans of her husband's eight-year administration, the only Democratic presidency in the past 28 years.

Obama also is certain to bring to the White House a cadre of longtime aides like senior adviser David Axelrod and press secretary Robert Gibbs. Both have worked closely with Obama since he ran for the Senate in 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/07/obama-meets-team-economic-experts/