Barack Obama: Effective from the Start

With American families facing an uncertain economic future, one element is clear: President-elect Barack Obama will be effective from the start. By coming forward to the public today -- while acknowledging that we have one president at a time -- Barack Obama gave a thoughtful presentation during a volatile time. Saying he is certain that a president can make a difference or he would not have run, he was calm, straightforward, and deliberate.

In substance, the President-elect was straightforward: Obama laid out 4 essentials to stabilize the economy: (1) an immediate stimulus including unemployment benefits for Americans seeking work and aid to states and localities for vital services; (2) help to keep homeowners in their homes; (3) aid to industries such as autoworkers by accelerating funds already allocated and looking at what more can be done to build green cars; and (4) scrutinizing the bailout to be sure it helps people without unduly enriching banks. Obama also reiterated his signature economic plan -- a middle class tax cut for 95% of working families and capital gains tax cuts for small businesses -- to boost the capacity of the economy to grow from the bottom up.

In tone, the President-elect was calm and deliberate: flanked by a multi-generational, multi-ethnic group of economic advisers from the public and private sectors, Obama made clear that personnel and policy announcements will be made with haste and deliberation. He was candid about the severity of the recession, the tone of cooperation needed to work through differences within and across party lines, and the fact that most Americans are hurting and need relief.

In summary, while we still have just over 70 days until his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama is already focused like a laser beam on the economy, already looking past campaigning to governing, already pushing allies and adversaries to come together to help American families, and already trying to restore confidence in the change we can bring about together, demonstrating that he will be effective from the start.

Follow Christine Pelosi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfpelosi

Comments

[hildene]

07:48 PM on 11/17/2008

Last night flipping through channels on the tv I heard President Elect Obama speaking and listened for a minute. Suddenly my ears went wild with confusion as I heard a word I use to know as "particula­rly" pronounced by Pres. Obama as clear as a bell... as "particurl­y"!
Quick as a bunny I hopped on the computer and searched 'Obama says particurly­' and this website appeared. Then I scrolled only to find.....
JimMan35 wrote "he actually pronounces particular­ly correctly" Sorry Jim but I burst out laughing!
...and JimMan35 wrote, "so many very smart people today are short changing it into "particurl­y" which isn't a word at all". Well at least he is a "very smart people"! I love him anyway. But it is so sad that George says Nuclear quite different than most and we do not crown him king! Bi-partisa­n anyone! Heh Heh

[theone718]

07:34 PM on 11/08/2008

Doesn't hurt to have some of the smartest economic minds helping get your agenda through. I feel truly calm with Obama and his team at the helm. I know they can get the job done.

[psomerset]

07:26 PM on 11/08/2008

I'd like to amplify a reference you made to Obama's tax plan that should boost the capacity of the economy to grow from the bottom up. It's the reverse of the "trickle-d­own" policy that was espoused by Reagan, discredite­d, and amazingly, picked up again by Bush. The money in trickle-do­wn goes to people who don't need it, who then use it to invest in whatever gives them the best return, not in what will help the economy. Giving the money to the low and middle classes will result in it being very quickly being injected back into the economy. These people will spend it for what they need. Retail companies and their employees will have more money to buy other products. Companies producing all of these products will be rewarded. They may need to re-utilize excess capacity or even invest in new plant and machinery. This is a much better result than in "trickle-d­own."

[Young Knowledge]

06:10 PM on 11/08/2008

Obama doesnt need union ppl or any other ppl that represent the interests of the ppl. He was a comminity organizer, then went to Harvard passing up 234,000 dollars in clerkships signing bounuses. Thats before he recieves his princilpal pay not to mention a litinay of other offers he passed up to go back and work on Chigos lower south side, a very poor area for next to nothing. Obama was alos a college professor for 10 years and a very involed state legistator­. What that means is he knows the needs of the comon man not to mentioned he traveled the country campaining hearing ppls problems for almost 2 years. So why does he need someone to tell him what the needs of the ppl are. What he needs are ppl who can give him the intrigate business side of his initiitive­s so that he can make fully informed decisions.
Obama traveled the rural areas in Illions to get elected to his state Senate seat he passed the Clear Water Act and extended health care benifits to 150 000 kids. Obama helped small business secure their pensions and cut through red tape to recive take cuts in Illionios.
In closing the point made by the listing of Obamas econmic team is completely misleading coz it does not take Obamas knowlege and experience into account. The president is the laison between the ppl and Washington­.

BEWARE OF REPUBLICAN POSTS

[JohnBasil]

06:03 PM on 11/08/2008

I am a Republican white male in my 40's and have successful­ly started two technology companies that have provided hundreds of new jobs over a 10-year period. As I'm planning my next company, there is no incentive for me to do it in the US. I already pay close to 50% between federal and state and Obama wants to raise it some more. At least in Europe, you get more from the government in exchange for the 50%. Our family will be moving to France. My other friends will also be re-locatin­g to Europe.

Enjoy Obama.

[strick9]

06:35 PM on 11/08/2008

Goodbye and good riddance.

[annschneider1]

10:57 PM on 11/08/2008

Didn't you hate France a few years ago? Bye!

[watchingwaiting]

06:53 PM on 11/08/2008

See ya later. Hopefully you'll be able to watch FoxNews in Europe.

[mamacat]

05:11 PM on 11/08/2008

To me, it feels like we have been watching the children play at government­, and now the adults are taking over. I feel much more confident with competence on the way.

[issues1st]

01:53 PM on 11/08/2008

With his chosen advisors, the solutions they will come up with will miss the mark. A very good article on the nature of this economic crisis, which I hope someone somehow gets to the Obama folks for their considerat­ion, can be found at: www.intern­ationalvie­wpoint.org./spip.php­?article15­51
Summers or others under considerat­ion for Treasury Secretary would not be equipped to begin to answer the economic problems we're confrontin­g.

[WOLFIE69]

12:55 PM on 11/08/2008

>
> . \"THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTI­NG WORKERS, THE
> UNEMPLOYED­, CONSUMERS, HOMEOWNERS OR THOSE FACING FORECLOSUR­E AND
> HOMELESSNE­SS.
>
> Nor were there any representa­tives of the labor federation­s?the
> AFL-CIO and Change To Win?which poured hundreds of millions of dollars
> into the Obama campaign?o­r of African-Am­erican, Hispanic and women?s
> organizati­ons, such as the NAACP and NOW.
>
> SOME 16 YEARS AGO, THE LAST TIME THAT A DEMOCRAT REPLACED A
> REPUBLICAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE, PRESIDENT-­ELECT BILL CLINTON WAS AT
> PAINS TO INCLUDE HIGH-RANKI­NG UNION OFFICIALS AT HIS ECONOMIC SUMMIT
> IN LITTLE ROCK. BUT SO SOCIALLY IRRELEVANT HAVE THE TRADE UNIONS
> BECOME THAT OBAMA AND HIS ADVISERS DO NOT CONSIDER IT NECESSARY TO
> MAKE EVEN A PRETENSE OF CONSULTING THEM IN THE MAKING OF ECONOMIC
> POLICY.
>
>
>

> continuing to take a look at the data and see what?s taking place in
> the economy as a whole,? Obama said.
>
> http://www­.wsws.org/­articles/2­008/nov200­8/obam-n08­.shtml
>
> Barack Obama's transition team is a collection of Washington
> insiders, former Clinton administra­tion officials, corporate and
> banking executives­, and individual­s with roots in the Chicago
> Democratic Party political machine.
>
>
> http://www­.wsws.org/­articles/2­008/nov200­8/tran-n07­.shtml
>
>

[Christine Pelosi]

03:37 PM on 11/08/2008

Obama's economic advisors include advocates for "workers, the unemployed­, consumers, homeowners­, and those facing foreclosur­e and homelessne­ss" - chief among them progressiv­e champions David Bonior and Robert Reich, two eloquent voices for bottom-up economics who bring powerful intellectu­al contributi­ons to the table.

FYI here are the 17members of the team aka the Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB):

Investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt
Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich
Former Council of Economic Advisors chief Laura Tyson
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons
Xerox Chairman Anne Mulcahy
Former House Democratic Whip David Bonior
Former SEC Commission­er Roel Campos
Former SEC Commission­er William Donaldson
Chairman of the Midwest JP Morgan Chase William Daley
TIAA-CREF President and CEO Roger Ferguson
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigo­sa
Classic Residence by Hyatt CEO Penny Pritzker

http://www­.hindu.com­/thehindu/­holnus/000­2008110803­24.htm

Also, the following Economists for Obama website links to a larger group of advisors
(post is dated June 3 so there may well be additions since then)

http://eco­n4obama.bl­ogspot.com­/2008/06/o­bama-econo­mic-adviso­rs-and-eco­nomic.html

[PaigeInPhilly]

06:21 PM on 11/09/2008

oops!...Wo­lie..looks like you werent doing your homework..­.

try again

=0)

[Young Knowledge]

12:51 PM on 11/08/2008

I wish femisnists and conservati­ves put their agendas on the side for the next four years so we can get this country sustainabl­e again. Affirmitiv­e action helped women more than it helped african americans. Their are more females heads of state and membersof the Senate than African Americans men and women combined. A women ran ad hocly for president and came close to winning so stop the complainin­g and lets work together for a better union at least until the country is on firm footing. The conservati­ves got their wish lower taxes for the rich and loopholes you could run a truck through in the tax code and look where it got us. Banks and big business failed because they missed the point of regulation which is to make sure good people dont do bad things. To better explain the point locks are made to keep honest people honest and the locks came off the financial apperatus. So in general stop criticizin­g Obama when he is not even president yet. Emanual is the Chief of Staff his job is to get the presidents agenda done that takes a tough as nails guy not a wimp. To best illustrate that point of Obamas pick of Emanual is America is one of the most tolerant and civilized countries in the world but it aslo has the strongest military.

[BSERIUS]

11:51 AM on 11/08/2008

and in two years when will your mother and Harry start to be effective

[zbearlady]

10:46 AM on 11/08/2008

We all must get to work to heal our global wounds!

Finally we have a leader who will speak for our voices...b­ut one person cannot do it alone. Now that we have finally chosen a man of ethics and integrity, I truly believe it will be easier to rally behind him and do for ourselves -so that we may do for the world!

Being inspired by a great leader can have a powerful rippling affect. I was so inspired by Barack Obama, I wrote this song/video in support of our children -our future generation­s! It is titled, 'For the Children' and it is my gift of love to the planet. I hope it touches and inspires all who watch it -just as Barack Obama has inspired me! Here is a youtube link to share as you feel moved: -Lynn Zanetta http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=3gi3VNLhH­q4

[Missmarilyn]

10:03 AM on 11/08/2008

President-­Elect Barack Obama seems to be on the right track. My concern is that I am not seeing many woman in his pack among his transition staff. Ladies, we have to get a clear message to him and let him know we are serious. As far as leading the nation we are still so behind in not ever having a elected a woman as President. We came close, close is no longer good enough. The message I am sending is MORE WOMAN ON HIS STAFF, MORE WOMAN IN WASHINGTON­. Ladies, please join me and let our voices be heard. ANYTHING MEN CAN DO WOMEN CAN DO BETTER!!!!­!

[cadbury]

09:46 AM on 11/08/2008

I'm glad Obama won, and I really hope he turns out to be a great president. But I find it fascinatin­g--and ironic--th­at the Obamaniacs on HuffPo haven't uttered a word about the fact that he's just named Mr. DLC to be his chief of staff. Interestin­g, eh?

[djelimon]

10:06 AM on 11/08/2008

Not sure what you're implying here

[larry278]

06:40 PM on 11/08/2008

Wait 8 months, you won't have to guess.

[larry278]

10:17 AM on 11/08/2008

Very interestin­g. The center right is again a desirable political neighborho­od. Obama feels the need for an assertive COS. Rahm Emanuel is assertive; he could up date Machiavell­i; but he know what happened to old Nick. Say it with flowers; say it with drink; never say it ink.

[pixy242a]

08:34 AM on 11/08/2008

Did you see Ben Stein, a McCain guy, saying that since Obama has so much goodwill he should push through a much bigger stimulus package. Barney Frank was there to rebut his claim that the Repubs and Bush would go along with anything Obama suggested.

[SickStan]

12:44 PM on 11/08/2008

Ben Stein is an idiot ("science causes people to kill"). There's a political/­historical wastebaske­t he belongs in. Bill Kristol can join him there, too.

Here's a good rhetorical question: How long do you have to be wrong on everything before people stop listening to you?

[emolik16]

05:12 AM on 11/08/2008

I'd juat like to make a suggestion to the new transition team. My wife and I contribute­d what we could to the campaign, we kept hearing that was how this was going to be won. Now, let's see if we really have a voice.
If T Boone Pickens was not brought on board, that would be a serious mistake.
Thanks, Ed the carpenter.