President-Elect Barack Obama met with his economic experts on Friday afternoon to discuss the slagging economy. Following the meeting, Obama addressed the media for the first time as President-elect.
President-elect Obama said that the country is facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and “we’re going to have to act swiftly to resolve it.”
However in his first news conference since winning the presidency Tuesday, Obama deferred to President Bush and his economic team, noting that the country has only one government and one president at a time.
He said the Congress needs to pass an economic stimulus measure either before or just after he takes office in January.But, he said, “immediately after I become president I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity.”
“I’m confident a new president can have an enormous impact,” he added.
The president-elect spoke after he and Vice President-elect Joe Biden met privately with economic experts to discuss ways to stabilize the troubled economy.
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. Despite dour third-quarter reports from Ford and General Motors, stocks rose some after two days of heavy losses.
Obama’s transition to power and early days in office, if not the entire first year of his presidency, almost certainly will be devoted to finding ways to remedy dismal economic conditions. The economy was the top concern of voters demanding a new direction as they ushered into office the Democrat who promised change after eight years of Bush’s policies.
Obama also said he will review a letter from Iran’s leader but refrained from directly responding to it. It’s not something “that we should simply do in a knee-jerk fashion,” he said.
“We only have one president at a time,” Obama said, adding that he wants to be careful to send the signal to the world that “I’m not the president and I won’t be until Jan. 20.”
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38 Responses
Who cares. We know already how he plans to destroy America.
#1, Joseph.
Please explain the plans that lead an intelligent man like yourself to conclude our new president “plans to destroy America.”
It is a fact that under the current president, America, for sure, is being destroyed in an unprecedented way, on many fronts.
I forgot to add that I will make no bones about it: I am very happy Rahm Emanuel is there in the White House. I will start to that point and see how things go. I would also like to believe that John McCain would want to rise to the job of fixing things, had he been elected.
GMAB:
nuch nisht, B’H!
Efsher vet der Eibershter nuch rateven inz fin eim.
addendum: elected
Did note vote for him or support him in any way, but must admit I thought this short news conference was handled well by him…I would like to be proven wrong about my negative views on Obama, if so we will all benefit.
Maybe the “experts” will tell him he is wrong, and he will change his mind on important economic issues.
You notice how he danced around the question about still planning on raising taxes & how he went into campaign talking points mode.
BTW Mr Obama, as a senator YOU have the power to do something now in the senate and not wait till jan 20 to do something about it. Of course you want to continue to play the political blame game with President Bush as the democratic party has been doing to him since he WON the election in 2000!
How about coming out and proclaiming that you will cut taxes a la JFK in order to stimulate the stock market & the economy???
shema yisroel; kim haim to canada eh…
BH I’m not a citizen of the velt – we have a mesora of being in galus and unfortunalty forgetting htat we are in galus and so round and round we go….
Morai V’rabosi,
With all due respect, I am noticing on this web site dialogue which is unbefitting for B’nei U’bnous Torah. For example, people are making unbecoming remarks about our presidential-elect Mr. Barack Obama. Remember that the American people elected him.
Let the man prove himself.
Ask your Rav as to what is the Halacha of “Kovod Malchus”. Al Achas Kama V’kama, these pages are open to the world, and you never know who reads them, or will read them.
Please recall from your “Chumush Days” the following Rashi: Moshe Rabeinu acted with great dignity when speaking to Paroh (Pharoh). He addressed him with royal respect. Now this is the same פרעה who bathed in the blood of Jewish children, Yet……….
רש”י שמות פרק ב
וימת מלך מצרים – נצטרע והיה שוחט תינוקות ישראל ורוחץ בדמם:
רש”י שמות פרק יא
(ח) וירדו כל עבדיך – חלק כבוד למלכות שהרי בסוף ירד פרעה בעצמו אליו בלילה (שמות יב לא) ויאמר קומו צאו מתוך עמי ולא אמר לו משה מתחלה וירדת אלי והשתחוית לי:
Joseph, I hope you can find a way to feel better.
Obviously you’ve got something really bothering you…
Avreich/#12, MANY people were bothered in 1933 by the election of a certain individual.
I listened to (part of) the interview on Friday.
I found interesting his answer to one of the reporters’ questions.
A reporter asked him that since President-Elect Obama now receives intelligence briefings like the President does,
a) does he feel the intelligence process can be improved, and
b) does he know feel differently about any of his positions, in light of his newly-acquired knowledge.
Mr. Obama kindly answered the first part and then asked the reporter if she was satisfied, or if there was another part to the question. She said there was another part, and essentially repeated part b, above.
Mr. Obama, in response, said very politely, “I’m going to skip that”.
Bottom line, a candidate can talk all he wants on the campaign trail, but when he gets down to business, he has to deal with reality, not his dreams, so I wouldn’t be so quick to judge him; let’s see who his “people” are, like the Chief of Staff, Defense Secretary, etc.
And as others said, “Gam BiMadaecha Melech Al TiKalel”. Whatever you think you know about him, you still have to show him the respect he deserves as President-elect of this country that has done so much good for Am Yisrael.
“immediately after I become president I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity.” you’ll notice he doesn’t say HOW he’ll do all this, just that he’ll make everything all better again.
#4, let’s take a closer look at the much celebrated chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Although it’s great that we will have a jewish chief of staff, there’s more to Rahm. The following is from a recent piece the Wall Street Journal did on him:
The Republican National Committee called the choice Mr. Obama’s first “broken promise.” “This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio).
Some Democratic aides on Capitol Hill were similarly struck by the partisan nature of the appointment — and even more so by the extended rollout. The Associated Press reported last week that Mr. Emanuel was likely to get the job, which he denied. By Wednesday, congressional sources were widely confirming he had been offered the job, but Emanuel aides said he hadn’t accepted it.
—John D. McKinnon contributed to this article.
Also, Rahm was a leading figure in both Clinton’s attempt at a government-controlled healthcare system and the infamous oslo accords.
And Rahm’s attitude does not quite match the “change ” that Obama has promised. i quote:
‘Emanuel is said to have “mailed a rotting fish to a former coworker after the two parted ways.” On the night after the Clinton election, “Emanuel was so angry at the president’s enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting ‘Dead! … Dead! … Dead!’ and plunging the knife into the table after every name.” His “take-no-prisoners attitude” earned him the nickname “Rahm-bo”.’ And before anyone can even start claiming this is “right-wing propaganda”, this is all straight from wikipedia. Look it up.
הנותן תשועה למלכים
I advise ALL klal Yisroel to re-institute this important tefillo said in many shuls every Shabbos after leining for the government,as instituted by Yirmiyohu haNovi..This tefillo was said even when the biggest reshoim were in charge in Europe.
Rahm Emanuel is a left wing israeli type who was the one that coordinated the ahndshake between rabin and arafat ys.
So like, we may as well have Peres for the US chief of staff.
ya, but Rahm Emanuel also fought in the war in ’81, so don’t be so quick to judge
Joseph . . . as the son and son-in-law of survivors, I am getting a tad piqued at your repeated comparisons of Obama to Hitler. Such a comparison is beyond the bounds of reason, and it cheapens both the horrors of the Churban Europe . . . and you. You really need to get a grip.
I voted Obama and so far he is living up to my expectations come January 20th, 2009 I am sure he will deliver.
Yonason — And as the grandchild of 4 survivors, I do not blind myself to future dangers.
GMAB, Yiddish 101;
nuch nisht (not yet), B’H!
Efsher (Perhaps) vet (will) der (the) Eibeshter (Lord) nuch (still) rateven (save) inz (us) fin (from) eim (him.)
#19, although i usually agree with joseph and strongly disagree with you, i am forced to agree that comparing obama to hitler is simply ridiculous.
#20, obama promised higher taxes, toevah marriages, killing children, and negotiation with achmadenejad. i really hope he doesn’t deliver.
bacci40,
The only hate around, is what possesses you and causes you to commit your self-destructive behavior.
You have repeatedly demonstrated your disdain for your fellow Jew as well as yourself.
The Nazis were the leftist in Germany, and in America it is the Democrat party that has its welcome mat out for the anti-semites of our time (i.e. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Cynthia McKinney, etc. etc.)
Joseph – I find this disturbing, really disturbing for the first time. You don’t have any idea what are leftists and anti-semites. And you don’t know history.
First, in Weimar Germany the Communists were the leftists – the National Socialists were on the right. And after Hitler assumed power in 1933 the left was violently crushed, even before he went after us. My father lived in Germany at the time . . .in 1933 he was 22 . . and I was raised on first hand accounts of those days – and if I can find it, I will bring you a book on he Weimar days to show you on Tuesday.
In my college days 40 years ago I knew leftists – real leftists . . . Socialists, Socialist Workers, Stalinists and members of the CP USA . . . . mostly daft idealists, as was I a bit – but they were real leftists. And in my days at sea, and later over-the-road trucking and in other endeavors, I met real anti-Semites. . . real racist died-in-the-wool Jew-haters – in Cleveland in 1970 I stopped in an American Nazi Party Office and had a discussion with a Brown-Shirt wannabe I will never forget.
To call the Democrat Party leftist, or to call the Republican Party rightist, is nothing less than uneducated shtuss. Both parties are by any definition of the word mainstream centrist, one more Liberal and the other more Conservative, but both pretty much beninim.
Git Vach
joseph, although i agree that the democrats are bad for america, bad for israel, and that they do indeed host many of the modern day anti-semites, socialists, and other loonies, they simply aren’t nazis.
Joseph..
Do yourself and everyone else a favor..before wasting your time with your comments.
Go to your local library and take out Mein Kampf which was written 10 years before Hitler came to power….and read exactly what he said he planned to do to your Grandparents and mine.. and then dare compare Our President..who has only been extremely helpful to the Jewish Community in Chicago..during his years as a public servant…
Who ever thinks Obama is going to bring another holocaust is an idiot and a racist. How dare you hope for someone to die!! Did he do anything against the jews ever. No he didnt. I am more afraid of you racists on this site than Obama with a shotgun.
bacci40,
You, with your sad commentary, have time and time again demonstrated your caviler disregard for the Torah and your fellow Jew.
Cynthia McKinney was welcomed by her lovely Democrat Party throghout her anti-semitic career with it. When seeking other political opportunity, she LEFT it, and was not thrown out.
Obama, like his German counterpart, is good with words and draws large crowds.
Yonason, if you don’t mind my asking, what newspapers/ magazines do you read? (Please, don’t say all of them).
My comment is not that Obama is a Hitler. It is one must keep an eye on this character.
“all i know is that i saw thousands take to the street with joy in their hearts, and i have read the positive comments coming from the many nations of the world regarding our just past election….please show me how that can be bad.”
Cuba
Venezuela
Nicaragua
Iran
…
Let’s discuss John McCain, this supposed lover of of the Jews. He received two interesting endorsements, neither of which he repudiated.
First, he was endorsed by longtime Republican leader and former Secretary of State James Baker III. Baker is most famous for saying after the 1992 elections “[Nivel peh deleted] the Jews. They didn’t vote for us anyway.”
Even better was his quote to the New York Times in 1992. “Don’t worry, Jews remember the Holocaust, but they forget insults as soon as they smell cash.” N.Y. Post, March 6, 1992
And then there is his endorsement from John Hagee. Hagee founder and National Chairman of the organization Christians United for Israel. Hagee wrote a book in which he said, “It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God’s chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day… Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of antisemitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come…. it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people.” (Jerusalem Countdown, pp. 92-93.)
So basically, Hagee is saying that Holocaust was our own fault. The pogroms were our own fault. etc.
#37, isn’t this the much complained about about “guilt by association” smear? Except that here McCain didn’t spend 20 years with any of these guys, they just endorsed him? Like when hamas endorsed Obama?
#32, where have you seen any racism?! Not once on tis topic did someone say anything about race until you came in!! This is the same cry of “racism” that the liberals rant whenever anyone even thinks of questioning one of Obama’s positions or statements. One can (or at least should be able to) legitimately criticize a black man without all this nonsense coming up.
#34 – Anon for this on – A mix of (not all the same day or week) NYT, Wash Post, JP, NY Jewish Wk, Jerusalem Report, Foreign Affairs, legal periodicals . . . WWII, U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings & a couple of trucking mags
Re # 35 – Oh yes you did Joseph . . . several times . . . in your most recent post calling Hitler “Obama’s German counterpart,” and earlier tonight implying quite directly that he is at best just like the Nazis
Yonason — Try National Review.
Yonason (40) — You misinterpreted it. That was not what was implied.
Yonason, I was hoping to become better informed but wow, that’s way more than I have time to read now. Mostly I just make it through a couple of sections of the Wall Street Journal & my local newspaper. I also read Smithsonian & Scientific American–I plan to renew my sub to The Week so I’ll get a better idea of the news.