The biggest takeaway from Barack Obama's first press conference as president-elect: campaign trail Obama has left the building.
President-elect Obama's soaring speeches will be remembered as the hallmark of his 2008 run, which never would have happened, of course, without a soaring speech in 2004. Even while he sought a more calm and subdued tone in the general election than during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton, his last week brought some of the most powerful rhetorical flashes of the campaign, including his moving eulogy for the grandmother who raised him and his rallying victory speech on Tuesday night.
But the election's over now and at today's presser, Obama was sober, deliberate, and focused on the nitty gritty of actually preparing to run the country. With the exception of a light discussion of the family puppy (he's hoping to find "mutts like me" for the kids) and an odd reference to contacting dead presidents for advice ("I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances"), Obama was dead serious in discussing the severity of the economic problems he will inherit. He began by responding to today's report showing unemployment at a 14-year high, saying bluntly: "We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it." He wasted no time with swagger, gloating, or celebration, keeping his attention squarely on the economy and the details of such immediate concerns as staffing the White House, staying on the same page as President Bush in planning the transition, and negotiating a fiscal stimulus package to relieve struggling American workers.
Despite the change in tone, Obama continued to reinforce the major themes of his campaign, weaving the broader picture of an economy powered from the "bottom-up" into the more specific tasks of growing jobs, saving local governments from fiscal ruin, and preserving the auto industry. His ability to connect specific policies to an overriding philosophy has been one of the most impressive features of his campaign and helped distinguish him from previous candidates like John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.
Obama's barn-burner speeches will serve him well in selling his ideas to the American people (who isn't looking forward to hearing him speak at his inauguration?), but as the problems facing America become responsibilities rather than rallying cries on the campaign trail, expect to see the sterner, graver Obama 3.0 a lot more often.
He did not answer that question like a President. He answered it like a candidate, still defending the policy, trying to sell it. The sale is over, just tell us what we bought.
He's transitioning right now so I can't hold this slip-up against him, I just hope he has more direct answers as he moves forward.
Obama will undoubtedly reshape what he attempts to do as he faces the realities of political struggle at the highest level of office, and opposition to specific changes he will attempt to make. But it's critical that his policies reflect the themes of not just his campaign, but his philosophy of governance. Otherwise, he'll go into the White House with a set of fragmented policies, and a high likelihood of getting pulled off course.
I don't remember any president-elect getting into the action so fast. This is good. I also am impressed by the serious demeanor (relieved by the puppy and seance comments) he displayed at the podium. How Obama "looks" is important to how he is perceived over these next months. He needs to look like he's ready to get down to business (and of course, he needs to actually do it, too) in order to foster trust and willingness to build working solutions between disparate interests in Congress.
On another note: He got a little flack over the Nancy Reagon comment, and I'd love to know if she was offended or understood the light-hearted nature of it, but more importantly, the press in the room laughed. It was a good moment, I thought. Also loved the serious tone in talking about the Puppy issue. This guy's got a LOT goin' on.
Don't blame the reporter for that one.
I think he's primarly trying to tamp down any unrealistic expectations from supporters...otherwise, they could really throw a wrench into the success of his presidency.