Obama Says No Extra Help For Chicago Friends (VIDEO)

President-elect Barack Obama indicated Tuesday that his friends in Chicago and Springfield shouldn't expect special treatment for their debt-ridden governments. Obama made the remark while taking questions after his news conference announcing Peter Orszag as his budget director-designate.

After Obama said, "Where's Andy Shaw? We're going local here," ABC 7's Shaw asked the President-elect how his stimulus plan would benefit local governments and made specific reference to the street addresses of Chicago City Hall and the Springfield statehouse. "Hundreds of your friends are wondering what you're going to do because they're in desperate straights from the standpoints of their budgets," Shaw said.

After emphasizing the role local governments will have in his economic recovery plans, Obama quickly rebutted the political implications of Shaw's question:

"Part of the charge [of the budget team] is to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics. Now you mentioned, sort of, my friends. I want to be clear friendship doesn't come into this. That's part of the old way of doing business.

"The new way of doing business is, let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck. How can we protect taxpayer dollars so this money is not wasted; restore a sense of confidence among taxpayers that when we spend their money, it's on things that are actually gonna improve their quality of life; create the jobs that are so desperately needed; help to spur on economic growth and business creation in the private sector? That's all part of the new way of doing business."

Watch the exchange:

Comments

[Fongenie]

Barack has a sexy smile. *licks lips*

[walk0nwalls]

That right there is the sound of Daly being smacked the frick down.

[Bluedanube]

Obama is now the top dog of the plutocracy and the first and only rule of the plutocracy is always protect the plutocracy.

[weatherwaxx]

Obama is now President of the United States of America and his job is to take care of the COUNTRY. When he was a Senator, his job was to look out for Illinois. I'm glad he understands the difference and wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm a transplanted Chicagoan myself -- and I think Chicago, and Illinois, is already better off.

And so is the whole country.

[MJJM]

This is CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!!!

[MaynardGK]

Still an important part of fiscal stimulus should be return of revenues to state government - States do not have ability to run deficits and are raising taxes; i.e. sales tax increase for California, etc. Sending money to infrastructure is fine, however our businesses know well how to concentrate the benefits of any spending to the top of the food chain. The other great idea I heard is suspension of the payroll tax.
Its gonna hurt, tho, to put them back on.

[biglover]

Has anyone heard about this story.

If anyone can shed anymore information, please post.

http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/obama_government/news.php?q=1227072513

http://origin.www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/08-570.htm

[propitiousmoment]

why don't you tell us the story instead of just posting links that might turn out to be spam....

[propitiousmoment]

Please tell the story instead of just posting a link that might turn out to be a virus....

[weatherwaxx]

This fraud is so old it's got mold on it and I think the twerp who posted it is perfectly well aware of that.

[RepugsOut08]

That story is bs. The flap over Obama's birth certificate was settled ages ago.
Besides, Obama freely admitted that he was born on Krypton, and was sent here by his father Jor-el to save planet Earth.
Sounds to me like he got here just in the nick of time!

[Fongenie]

Haha!

[patwal]

Zing! hahahaha

[harriscrl3]

Oh please dont be silly everyone knows Obama will be celebrating his birthday in a month.

Carol

[patwal]

Come 2015 I suspect you'll setill be posting links like this - with exactly the same result

[wezcoz]

Obama is Awesome.

[larry278]

OK, BHO is talking the talk. A lot of radical progressives will be watching to see if he can & will walk the walk. Some feel that Obama's moves to the center are moves to the right & that BHO will continue moving to the right. Prove us wrong, BHO.

[canucklivinginUSA]

He has several times, its you guys that have accepted the media meme.

[barackobama4prez]

watch him unite the country. the country is not liberal dude.

[weatherwaxx]

The country is more left of center than right, despite the constant harping of the neocons on their favorite refrain.

And Jesus was a liberal socialist. Go read the New Testament.

[weatherwaxx]

The expression is "Walking the talk," ie, doing what you say you will do. "Talking the talk" is like "swimming the swim." It's redundand and silly.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

yea sure, I know I-80,I-76, I-70, I-270 is going to get so much use they are going to need a special lanes on the Dan Ryan and Capital Beltway just like is Soviet Russia

yea I'm a hater
and a bitter clinger

[dphilip]

clingon brother.. Sigmun Freud: "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarted sexual and emotional maturity. After meeting and debating many of the "possessing the courage to defend themselves challenged" ,anti gunners..I see just what Freud is referring to.

[Matoridi]

Dude, this qutote is from Don B. Kates, Jr., not SigmunD Freud...

Look it up on wikiquote.

I think that the gun obsessed guys are those with fears about their sexual potency, since they need such blatantly obvious symbolic compensations.

[moonflowerjewelry]

i admire this man's courage - no matter what he does someone is going to rant and rave: it's too much! it's not enough! i think the folks who are going to complain the most are the ones who don't want to give up their own greed, who don't want to alter their gross consumeristic behavior, who don't really want the country to thrive because then they would have no real reason to b itch and moan.

[dphilip]

Greed? So getting an education , working hard and sacrificing to get what you want is greed?
How Karl Marxist of you. See, they don't want a "different' America, they don't want it to be America at all anymore. Dreams, liberties (guns), wanting to get ahead? "You selfish greedy repug you"
All you folks that got charmed by this guy are going to see what you put in for sooner rather than later.

[barackobama4prez]

can't wait to vote for "this guy" or "that one" 4 years from now!

[ravenman22]

After reading your post and many similar to yours, will you have the courage to admit that your life improved, and those lives of those you know improved if that is what the future brings all of us?
Or when you use the word 'they' do you mean 'that one" and those like him?

I will admit that I made a mistake in supporting Obama if that takes place.
Now, however, is somewhat premature for you to preach what 'they' will do with 'our' future.

You will never see the change with your blinders on.

[harriscrl3]

Hate to break it to you Illionis but He is NOT YOUR SENATOR anymore he is President of the United States. That means all 50 States. Including Illionois

Carol

[eden4barack08]

How about Illinois? Is that included? ;0)

Just teasing your "Illionis and Illionois" :)

[mykalimba]

Best line was right at the end: "This is also part of the new way of doing business: when we make mistakes, we admit them."

[eden4barack08]

Boy, this man just keeps me beaming with pride! I'm lovin' it!

[bigfated]

I too feel a great sense of pride----and hope---when I hear this man speak.
And I am sick of the naysayers who are already trying to paint him as "more of the same."
I'm old enough to recall FDR and his fireside chats. Obama brings back memories of that kind of leadership. I think that when it's all said and done, America will be glad he was here when we so desperately needed a thoughtful and wise man to begin the recovery from the incredible damage of the shameful, disgraceful, traitorous Bush years! And I think his family is nothing less than GREAT! We are lucky. And i hope I live to see at least a couple of his years in the White House.
I wish him nothing but the best.

[robertny49]

I couldn't agree more with your wonderful post. I hope you live happy and healthy through all eight years of Obama's Presidency!

[foxbat]

Nice post. Those leaders who 1) aren't afraid to tell the people what they need to hear, 2) aren't afraid to feel what the citizen is feeling and 3) are willing to share all of themselves are the ones that Americans need in times like these. If Obama can pull us out of the tailspin and fix just half of the mess that he's been left, he could easily be mentioned in the same breath with folks like FDR.

[PS4OBAMA]

I too have a great sense of pride in Obama and HOPE - he has been handed a several dumsters of Bush/Cheney crap that will take a larger government just to dig deep into this pile of steaming dung that we have lived with for the last 8 years; to see people on the post, Obama supporters too, question his decisions on who he brings into his cabinet...pay attention....he has a huge transition team ...these people being considered for whatever position is being vetted and discussed at length. He just didn't wake up and say yeah, so an so for this postition. You have your right of freedom and speech, etc., but Obama hasn't even stepped in the door yet and look how much progress he has made already - no PE has done that in 40 years, and yet, the complaints continue....I am an avid Obama supporter and the thought that McCain and Snowfake winning would have continued Karl Rove/Cheneyeffecgt because neither Mc or Snowfake had any intetligence at all, and I add Joe the Plumber to that. So, let the man walk through the door and do his job.....I'm supporting him - are you?

[StillIRise]

Thank you for your insight. I too hope and pray that we will both live to see more than a couple of years of an Obama presidency. Whether we knew it or not, he's the leader America has been waiting for, and I believe that he will make a positive difference in our country and in the world community that will resound for generations.

[nellie]

"Friendship doesn't come into this. That's part of the old way of doing business."

Love the White Sox exchange, too.

[JustSteve]

That is my one problem with PE Obama... how is he not a Cubs Fan? I mean, I get that he has been working on the South side of Chicago and all... but there are south siders who are Cub fans. There just has to be, right?

Maybe one of his daughters is a Cub Fan....

[sclucie]

Explain. If you're from the south side, you're not for the Cubs?

[rickczar]

He's smart. Hence, he's not a Cubs fan.