President-elect Barack Obama's first press conference

President-elect Barack Obama gave his first press conference focusing on the economy this afternoon. This press conference came just after meeting with his Transition Advisory Board this afternoon. During his prepared remarks he said that today the U.S. is facing "the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime" and he called for Congress to pass a new stimulus package. Obama held his first briefing as president-elect, taking questions from reporters after meeting with a 17-member council of economic advisers.

During his prepared remarks, President-elect Obama laid out three principles:

A rescue plan for the middle class

Address the spreading impact of the financial crisis on other sectors of our economy

Review the implementation of this Administration’s financial program

His initial statement concluded with these words:

Let me close by saying that I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead. We have taken some major actions to date, and we will need further actions during this transition and subsequent months. Some of those choices will be difficult, but America is a strong and resilient country. I know that we will succeed if we put aside partisanship and work together as one nation. And that is what I intend to do.

Obama was joined on the stage by his economic team:

Vice-President Elect Joe Biden

William Daley - Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000

Robert Reich - University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S.
Dept of Labor, 1993-1997

Penny Pritzker - CEO, Classic Residence by HyattRoger Ferguson - President and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

Lawrence Summers - Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001

Anne Mulcahy - Chairman and CEO, Xerox

Richard Parsons - Chairman of the Board, Time Warner

Paul Volcker - Former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987

Rahm Emanuel - United States Representative (IL-05)

Jennifer Granholm - Governor, State of Michigan

Robert Rubin - Director and Senior Counselor, Citigroup; Former
Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999

David Bonior - Member House of Representatives (Michigan) 1977-2003

Laura Tyson - Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley;
Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995

Antonio Villaraigosa - Mayor, City of Los Angeles

William Donaldson - Former Chairman of the SEC, 2003-2005

Eric Schmidt - Chairman and CEO, Google

Roel Campos - Former Commissioner of the SEC

You can watch some highlights of this first press conference here:


And Here:

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