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
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
If you haven't already, go read Newsweek's indepth, behind the scene, look at the 3 campaigns. The way Obama and his team ran their campaign was just incredible. And if the run the country the way he manages his campaign, and there is no reason why he couldn't do better given the resources and power afforded the presidency to pick any person in the world he need, I'm confident the Obama administration is one of the most able ones in history.
He might not be able to achieve all that he sets out to do - who really could anyway, and given the economic constraints and all that - but there is no better person at present more able to take the reign from Bush.
If by "effective" you mean crashing the Dow by 10% in two days then yes, quite effective indeed.
La la la you are bitter la la la.......la la la! :)
are you serious??? LOL....he's not yet in office, sweatheart
funny, considering the fact that the Dow gained today. Hmmmm.. wonder why.
So now he's responsible for the Dow down? what planet are you living on?
I know it must hurt a lot that your candidate lost. I just want you to know that I do understand and that I'm glad you feel that way. ;-)
Actually, what i heard was a bunch of bumbling, stumbling, I don't have a clue, but give me a chance, bunch of same-old, same-old.
Who do you think gave the most $$$$ to Obama?
Get a grip folks.
We got four more years of more of the same.
Ahhhhh.... I bet it's pretty depressing over there at REDSTATE where you normally blog, huh.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I'm puzzled by your remarks. I was one of the people who contributed to the Obama campaign along with millions of others. To suggest that Mr. Obama will change course and follow any agenda other than the one he presented during his campaign seems more than a little unlikely. With the support of Congress, I expect to see tremendous and exciting changes in this country. Even if he is only partially successful, it will be an enormous relief from what we have seen in the Bush administration.
You must have been watching reruns of the other guy's campaign from a week ago. Change the channel.
man is he a breath of fresh air or what ? obama treats you like an ADULT ! he engages the listener...........obama is going to prove all the naysayers wrong....he will be able to govern effectively.
He didn't waste any time. He just started right in on how we woke up this morning to more bad news, this time on job losses and took off from there.
Two of my off topic favorite things in his speech:
1. He actually prounounces "particularly" correctly. So many very smart people today are short-changing it into "particurly", which isn't a word at all. And, oh, of course we all know he can pronounce nuclear.
2. His line about most dogs in shelters are mutts, like him. So perfect. Such a serious time, but we can still laugh.
Thank you for putting that line about dogs in shelters on record. What? A president (or any other politician) who makes self-deprecating jokes? Now that is a breath of fresh air.
I am in Canada. The election was three days ago. I am waking up each morning since the release facing the same problems. My friends and family in the US are still facing theirs, as are people around the world.
The difference is I am now waking up each day with an enduring sense of relief and desire and inspiration and motivation. What is different, three days later, is that I wake up fired up - still. I still have crap going on, the world is still in chaos, but I find myself looking to a future. I am looking for my part. I am looking for what I can do in my small world to help this global energy to move forward to the better world our souls crave. I WANT to work for that again.
You can encourage people but you cannot motivate them. That has to come from within. When they
are hopeless, you cannot move them at all. They first must be inspired -- inspiration to bother with any of it. I am waking up inspired, and feeling like it's worth it.
If anybody else, even one person, (and there are millions more) are feeling the same way, the potential for changing this world is phenomenal. This man was effective, is effective, and will be effective, because he is not alone. The best minds in the world want work with him and the rest of us want to be part of it. Yes, effective from the
...start.
He has a commanding presence, a soothing demeanor and he inspired great confidence. Personally, I had a hard time getting over seeing a real press conference, where questions are asked and answered. It's been a long time. Bush has his invite only pressers and answers one lame question and then stumbles off to get his next drink. No wonder...
Obama quite simply is presidential, he works really hard, and I feel overwhelmingly grateful to the American people who voted for him. He was much more specific than anyone thought he would be -- and his plan made sense - yet he was still humble and careful to observe protocol. Excellent job.
Did anyone else have a frightening moment where they imagined what if? What if that were Palin? What sorts of answers (non answers) would we still be sorting through? of course, she never gave a presser for a good reason. When you don't know who is in NAFTA and you can't answer Couric's question about which papers you read, you'd best not get into a room with a bunch of seasoned political reporters. Where are the freepers now? Did they hear those questions? Are those liberal elite media "gotcha" questions? I wonder if they will ever realize that just like any job, this one takes specific knowledge. Bush didn't have it, but at least he could manage to reply on topic. Palin would have been a complete disaster in that room today.
God Bless our new President.
I guess that thought about Palin is a little "off-topic", given that she'd have been standing to one side of President-elect McCain. Perhaps it's too early to tell whether she'll run again next time. :-)
The economy is of course the most important issue that currently faces both 43 & 44. The ideas put forth today by the President-Elect are both sound and prudent. As the days progress and National Security melds with the economy in overlap, I believe we will see even greater detail of the Obama stimulus plan as greater and greater amounts of funds currently being spent in Iraq come home to our own shores. President Obama was nothing less than impressive, real and humorous (the 'dog' search') in the face of despair. I have all the confidence in the world in Obama and the future.
I remember these events. Jack Kennedy used to do this on a regular basis. They were called press conferences--with questions allowed. There was even some humor despite the considerable problems before us.
It is good to once again see that the Captain (to be) of the Ship of State has the best interest of the passengers in mind.
WOW!! You said it BEST! I Agree 100%!! It is a Refreshing sight to witness!!! President Elect Obama!!
Obama spoke of many important and grave issues concerning our Nation. He even spoke about the White house dog his family intends to get. What he failed to speak out about is the upset of the Civil Rights movement for Gays. I saw a boy being beaten in the street by three cops with batons all because he seeks Equality. Let me see White House Dog vs Equality and violence and a community in turmoil.......This is not change I can believe in.
to the person saying he was still campaigning, I'm sorry it sounds that way to you, but he is not the president yet. As he said there is only one president at a time. We are anxious for him to take office, it has been a long campaign and a long eight years, but he is not in charge yet. There is only so much he can do at this juncture. He has to fill his cabinet with the best minds available, that is a tall order. As his campaign has showed us he deliberate, methodical and consistent. This will not change and shoud not. I am hungry for more information and action, but he is not the president in charge, he is the president elect...
The key words there are perhaps "restoring confidence". We all know that the financial markets are propped up by confidence (and presently sagging without it), but we all need confidence in order to get out of bed and start the day - no matter who we are, where we are or what we do. This needs to be an enabling administration as much as a supporting administration.
Tax cuts are valuable but are redistributive. What the world economy needs just as much are new initiatives, new ideas, leading to new kinds of wealth creation. That's why point (3) above is of such great consequence. After all, what is a "green car"? It could be an automobile that can be recycled, or it could just be a re(invented bi)cycle. The great thing about what we now call "sustainable" products is that they open up a vision of the future.
Is it Inauguration Day yet? I don't know if we can wait 70 days in limbo while issues in our country deteriorate while President-elect Obama sits on the bench. I guess that's the way it is, but having Bush in charge until then isn't good for the country.
and I'm sure once he is gone we are going to find out that things are a H e ll of alot worse than we think...
Amen to that, MadDog!
I can hardly wait for January. I'm looking forward to having a President that I can actually listen to without wincing.
We will see......
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
