Here is the video of Barack Obama’s press conference on November 7th, 2008, his first as president-elect. Obama focused mostly on the economy while leaving no doubt that partisanship will continue in Washington.
On the substance of the economy, Obama offered reassuring platitudes but little sense of urgency. 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.”
One wonders what he is waiting for? As the president-elect and a sitting member of the United States Senate, Obama has it within his power to propose any solution, and it should be easy for him to get it passed already in Congress. He had the same opportunity during the election season but proposed no legislation and only reluctantly returned to Washington for the bailout bill, for which he was not even a signatory.
Barack Obama needs to free himself of fuzzy campaign rhetoric and get to the issue of governing. We understand that he is green but there is no time for on-the-job training. The country needs solutions now more than ever, in fact the public demands it. With the news of soaring unemployment and a severely crippled auto industry, the country can ill-afford for Barack Obama to abdicate leadership at this crucial time.
In his press conference video, Obama discusses how a transition team will be convened to develop solutions. However, it is peculiar that a winning presidential candidate elected largely on the issue of the economy would not already have them. His policy positions can not have disappeared in two days, and it can be no surprise to him that workers are suffering. Instead he proclaimed that we have “only one president at time.”
Where is the Obama stimulus package proposal? Where is the there there?
The press conference gave viewers further insights into Obama’s intention to govern narrowly. He avoided taking questions from any media outlet who endorsed his opponent, and refused questions from FoxNews, the leading cable news provider which is accused of a conservative-lean but endorsed nobody.
After the appointment of a highly-partisan Chief of Staff on Wednesday, it is becoming clear that the effusive campaign slogan of “change” has nothing to do with governing. It will be politics as usual in Washington, but these first clues tell us we might see even more divisiveness under an Obama administration which seems to already have a certain pettiness.
The press conference was so widely anticipated by an expectant public that it was live-blogged all over the internet, Many were disappointed.
See the first Obama press conference video below.
Obama Press Conference (Video)
November 7th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Commentors on other threads have said that since Obamas press conference the market has jumped 200 points.
How is that possible when he basically said nothing ?
I did hear a lot of give aways and no way to pay for them.
I see no way for him to dish out all hes promised and pay for it with revenues from the top 5% in the country.
If you take into account that many investors will sell off before he establishs the 40% tax he wants to put on them , he’ll actually have less to pay for anything with.
I predict that the numbers defining rich will drop, as they already have, from 250,000 to 200,000 to 150,000 down past the 120,000 that Richardson said should apply in NM to a level that will have most Americans feeling screwed and lied to.
If he could “change his mind” like he did with his commitment to campaign financing I see no reason why he wouldnt do the same thing and change his mind regarding any of his other commitments.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Geez, it’s only been three days since the election. And he doesn’t want to step all over the toes of the current administration. He’s still not president. Cut him some slack people.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Kim;
“And he doesn’t want to step all over the toes of the current administration. Cut him some slack people.”
Why ?
All he did was trash Bush and Co. for the last two years.
Hes very lucky that Bush is the gracious and conscientious man he is.
As said in the article, he still has ample leeway to do something now, not that he couldnt of tried to push something thru earlier.
Which brings me to say that after two years of the left talking smack about me and every other con on the planet, as soon as they win they want us all to just come on over and end the partisanship.
Bullsh*t.
I dont want this guy in office.
I’m gonna dust myself off and when the bell rings I’m coming back out again for round two.
What am I saying ?
I’m already there.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
[...] Source [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Aww…look at all you conservatives so bitter that your dear republican party is taking it’s last feeble breaths. Maybe now you’ll have to consider the issues that affect minorities and the poor if you ever want to rise again.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Kim I agree with you. You people who want to do nothing but whine and boo Obama need to think about what you say before you think it. what has your “Bush” done in the last 8 years but get us into 2 wars, destroy our economy and destroy relations with the whole world. Obama actually, wow, has a plan! GO figure! Open your eyes people oh and McPalin didn’t trash and outright lie the whole campaign! As President ELECT Obama said Bush is still president and when Obama takes the job over he will do what is needed to get us back on track. As with any job you can’t start your new job until you actally start it.
Micky when was the last time you got a new job and started before your start date? Sounds like you are just looking for any reason to hate.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
If you read his books…you will get a better sense of why he is doing what he is doing. His fuzzy rhetoric stems from his second book, with actual focus and clarity. It is cool to comment, but do it with research and not regurgitated rhetoric from deeply divided members/supporters of either parties.
Second, this is not an instant gratification situation. However long his term(s)…he realistically aims to get the ball solidly rolling in a different direction. Therefore your criticisms should allow the current speeding train of economic despair time to halt and then change direction. But to start criticizing any president who is inheriting a load of serious issues and has not even been sworn in as yet seems politically petty at best. If able to give such advice…I recommend a third option. You run for office in 2012. Put your quick and fast solutions to the test. Then let us know on your White House webpage how it’s going.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I love how you liberals are so anxious and upset about people not buying B.O.’s BS. You didn’t feel obligated to cut Bush any slack. You’ve bashed him for years now.
I will not cut him ANY slack. He said he was going to unite our country, well, he has a lot of work to do. It’s his job to extend the olive branch. I haven’t seen him reach out to anyone except the far left. Empty promises. Change? Bah! Politics as usual is more like it.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
“Obama Faithful” Micky is always looking to hate on Obama.. if Obama fell over dead today I think Micky would be very happy..
Micky I was the one that said market went up 200 points after he spoke, as a counter point to yours and McCains arguement that the Dow Jones hates Obama..
November 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Micky, you do not love America. For the past decade I have heard conservatives claim that they love America and democrats and liberals do not. I now KNOW that is not true.
I have seen so many conservatives gleefully say that they will enjoy seeing Obama fail. Right now our country is suffering and you would rather see it fall then help a President that you did not elect? Your spitefullness and meanness is greater than your love of America, and that is what I have seen from conservatives for the past few days.
When Bush made his mistakes, which I criticized, I was not happy that he had failed. I was angry. I love this country dearly and he had let everyone in the world down. I did not elect him, but he was still my president and I expected him to serve this country well. But I never wished for him to fail, nor did it ever make me happy.
You should be ashamed of your character and your obvious shortfalls when it comes to emotional maturity. You need to re-examine your soul. This isn’t a football. This is America and we are Americans and we are in deep trouble. That should matter a lot more to you than revenge.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
[...] Obama Press Conference (VIDEO) on Right Pundits [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Matt.
You can spin it according to your own hateful bias, I understand.
I dont wish any harm to Obama, I just want him out of office so that the country doesnt fail.
Show me an example of me wishing for Obama to fail.
Until you can, shutcheryap.
I dont appreciate liberal values for the most part and just because I dont hide it doesnt mean I’m anything other than a patrotic person who wants whats best for his country, whether you like it or not.
The man doesnt even qualify to be his own security guard, he could never even pass a security check if all his associations were listed.
You should be ashamed of yourself for supportingthe most divisive,evasive,inexperienced full of sh*t,clueless, egotistic candidate this country has ever seen.
As far as me hating America goes, lets ask Michelle who was never proud of America until recently, or Obama who accuses of our troops of bombing innocents in Afganistan. Or his buddy Ayers, Wright, and Khalidi who dont hide their hate for America.
Yea, Obama, the schmuck who wants to apologize to the world for America.
Gimme a break.
When the left displays dissent to the tune of hundreds of viscious slanders against Bush, laced with profanity, its OK, its patriotic, its freedom of speech.
When I simply say I want the man out of office I’m villified like a demon.
You and many others are forgetting the potential for disaster when any party has too much control as in the one party state that is about to happen.
I dont hate liberals, everyone has their place, and total control of our government is not it.
My goal is to have him removed from office, with no harm to anyone in the process. If anything, I am starting now to do my best to see that he does not see a second term.
But as in the case with the left and Bush, I will never accuse Obama of anything that is not true, I will never doubt his intelligence, I believe he loves his country, but they way he shows it has to go.
Grow up, get it right.
KV.
You still never explained how Obama effected the market.
It was pure speculation and wishful thinking.
I answered to your claim, you just had empty rhetoric.
November 7th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
“Micky when was the last time you got a new job and started before your start date? Sounds like you are just looking for any reason to hate.”
Obamafaithful
Did you read my post above ?
Did you read the article ?
McCain;
“One wonders what he is waiting for? As the president-elect and a sitting member of the United States Senate, Obama has it within his power to propose any solution, and it should be easy for him to get it passed already in Congress. He had the same opportunity during the election season but proposed no legislation and only reluctantly returned to Washington for the bailout bill, for which he was not even a signatory.”
Micky;
“As said in the article, he still has ample leeway to do something now, not that he couldnt of tried to push something thru earlier.”
He is working right now as the president elect, get it ?
Why would he be having security briefings, press conferences and meetings with finacial consultants ?
Come to think of it, besides campaigning, what HAS he done in the last two years ?
November 7th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Oh MCCAIN, I guess you are still bitter that your predicted McCain victory failed to materialize.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Well, first of all, congratulations to Pres Elect Obama. He ran a good campaign and deserved to win. However, in today’s presser, it looked like he was still running for office. He will eventually have to offer solutions instead of just platitudes. I do agree that he may just be waiting out of respect for the current occupant of the White House. Sure, and I believe martians!!
Frankly, I think his strategy is that he “hopes” the economy “changes” on its’ own because he does not have a clue on how to approach the economy. Let’s go ahead and increase taxes while we are in a recession. What a grand idea.
Liberals, you have seriously underestimated the conservative movement. Our problem was that we strayed too far from our principals and acted like liberals. This election ensures that those days are behind us.
Smile and be happy now. It won’t last.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
If McCain had been elected, we wouldn’t be having any press conference. We’d be having nothing. Just more of the same, for another four years, while the country continues to go down the tubes.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
It amazes me that certain people want Mr. Obama to immediately fix a situation that took years to come about. Right now he is settling in to begin what will be a painful road back from the quagmire that the country finds itself. Mr. McCain would be in the same position as Mr. Obama if he had won. So let’s get this out of the way…It was an election….a democratic process where multiple people vied for the position of President. One person won and our democratic process worked. Get over it. What TRUE americans would do now is support our country to get it back on track…help our President elect…send him your ideas if you have to. If you must talk trash, then back it up with ideas…don’t just complain. DO something to help. Opinions are fine…but BE FAIR about it. Bi-Partisanship CAN work…it takes maturity and the ability to see beyond one’s self-interest. I didn’t even vote for Obama but I will support my president and let him know when I disagree, work it out, get over it, and move on. For the benefit of the country. Think Long Term people. we can make this work.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I’ve spent two years listening to Obama.
I think thats enough time to know that I do not want to work with someone that has his vision.
He has no record or ever displayed a hint of wanting to work with anyone other than the left, far left for that matter.
No one expects him to fix this right away.
I think what you’re mostly hearing is people who are tired of his empty rhetoric.
I can think of many on the left that I would have fair and constructive course with. Obama is not one of them.
Right now McCain would more than likely be making an attempt to work with Bush, as they have before, to implement something acting as a buffer to our economy during transition.
Obama instead stood in front of the world today and made sure that everyone understood that what happened, happened on the present administrations watch, “there is only one administration” etc.. yada yada yada essentially saying that this was not his problem yet.
There are plenty of ideas out there for him to choose from. His campaign made it obvious which ones he is choosing to apply.
During that campaign he trashed any idea that came from the right.
Why anyone would think that will change now makes me wonder.
November 8th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Jose, very good thoughts. I agree we should all help our president-elect by encouraging him to get his lazy ass to work. There is no time for speeches now. That’s pretty much the point of of the article.
November 8th, 2008 at 2:21 am
I think Jose is right. Matt has a point in that you have to be able to criticise obamas agenda and his campain. his presidency however, hasn’t even started yet. remember that and that right now he just wants to make a smooth transition and follow up what he’s talked about doing. It would be stupid and useless to attack bush or the current administration now that they will have to work together.
i think the next administration will contain at least one or two republican ministers, so there is an example right there how it’s not just going to be one-sided from now on.
it’s going to be incredibly easy to criticize obama as soon as he comes in. i think a lot of people have underestimated the hole that they are in and the multiple Major Global challanges that have to be met in succeding at home (1. the economy 2. Iraq and Afghanistan 3. Environmental policy…)
no president will have had higher expectations on him, not just from america but from the world, and obviously he is not going to be able to do all that he has said and wanted. but i think that if he is given a fair chance and not being met by unproductive critisism, he will definitely take some important steps towords a better working america.
i think his retorics are both asset and flaw, because it gives him credibility and leader-status if he uses it timely, but gives him a lot of expectation and could paint him as “all words and no action”.
i think we will se a lot more like in the debates from now on. a lot more on the issues and a lot more on what is happening, what he is going to do and if you listen carefully, maybe even why
(sorry about the spelling.. i’m swedish)
November 8th, 2008 at 2:21 am
correction. MICKY not matt
November 8th, 2008 at 4:03 am
[...] Obama Press Conference (VIDEO) [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 4:03 am
[...] Obama Press Conference (VIDEO) [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Now the liberals want to be patient. Why don’t we travel back to 2000 when Bush was being criticized before taking office.
No deal. We are going to be a vigorous opposition. Should Obama try to implement the “Fairness Doctrine”, our protests in Washington will make the liberals look like a tea party.
November 8th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Its plain to see that Obama is partly, if not mostly responsible for the expectations being put on him.
Its him who made himself out to be the one than can bring change and asked everyone to just have hope.
The only reason for this press conference was to bring down those expectations now that hes seen exactly what it is he has to deal with.
I’ll bet money that he came out of his first security briefing with a little brown spot in his underwear.
Some of the intelligence that he was never privy to before, info that the general public could never digest without causing anarchy, probably had him telling himself “holy sh*t” I had no idea.