by Frank James
The question-and-answer session following President-elect Barack Obama's press conference elicited some interesting answers from the president-in-waiting:
On voters' desire for an end to partisan ideology:
OBAMA: Well, first of all, we had, I think, a decisive win because of the extraordinary desire for change on the part of the American people. And so I don't think that there's any question that we have a mandate to move the country in a new direction and not continue the same old practices that have gotten us into the fix that we're in.
But I won 53 percent of the vote. That means 46 or 47 percent of the country voted for John McCain. And it's important, as I said on election night, that we enter into the new administration with a sense of humility and a recognition that wisdom is not the monopoly of any one party.
In order for us to be effective, given the scope and the scale of the challenges that we face, Republicans and Democrats are going to have to work together.
And I think what the American people want more than anything is just common-sense, smart government. They don't want ideology. They don't want bickering. They don't want sniping. They want action and they want effectiveness. And that's what Peter and Rob are going to help us provide.
When it comes to our budget, I think people don't want to continue a budget -- a(n) argument about big government or small government; they want smart government and effective government. And so what we're going to do is to work as closely as we can with the Republican Party. My chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has already met with both caucuses. We want their input. We want their ideas.
On the need at the state and local level for financial help especially since as a former state lawmaker his "friends" at that level were looking for help:
OBAMA: We are going to have to make sure that we are investing in roads, bridges, other infrastructure investments that lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth. A lot of that goes through our states and our local governments.
And one of the things that we're going to also want to make sure of is that as part of our economic plan, that we are fast-tracking some of these projects. And so the best way for us to do that may be in some cases to see what's -- what projects are already being undertaken by state and local governments, and making sure that they have the funds to continue those projects.
So we're going to be working very closely with governors. We're going to be working very closely with mayors of towns, small and large, across the country. This economic recovery plan will require their input, their participation. And you know, part of our job is to make sure that we are listening to what's happening on the ground, where the rubber hits the road, and not simply designing something out of Washington.
Now, this raises one other important point, though. Part of the charge of Peter and Rob and the rest of our budget team is to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics. You mentioned sort of my friends. I want to be clear; friendship doesn't into this. That's part of the old way of doing business.
The new way of doing business is, let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck; how can we protect taxpayer dollars, so that this money is not wasted; restore a sense of confidence among taxpayers that when we spend our money, it's on things that are actually going to improve their quality of life, create the jobs that are so desperately needed, help to spur on economic growth and business creation in the private sector. That's all part of the new way of doing business.
On the need to draw the line between short-term fiscal approaches to get through the economic crisis to long-term approaches:
OBAMA: We've got to distinguish between a(n) immediate and temporary infusion that's going to be required to kick- start our economy and some of the structural spending that's been taking place in Washington that has created this huge mountain of debt.
And part of the charge to my economic team is to find areas where we can get a twofer, where we're getting both a short-term stimulus and we're also laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth.
For example, during my campaign I talked about the need to provide a tax cut to 95 percent of workers. Now, for us to get that tax cut in place, that is going to put money into the pockets of the middle class and will help them in spending for their basic needs. That can help the economy. The sooner we do that the better.
That will also, though, restore some balance to our tax code over the long term. So that's an example of where the immediate needs of the economy and the long-term concerns that we have are not necessarily incompatible.
Health care is another example. If we do a smart job of investing in health-care modernization -- let's just say, as an example, helping local hospitals and providers set up electronic billing and electronic medical records that experts across the spectrum consider to be an important step towards a more efficient health care system.
Now, somebody's got to help set those up. We've got to buy computers, systems and so forth. That's an immediate boost to the economy, in some cases, working with state and local governments. But it's also laying the groundwork for reducing our health-care costs over the long term.
Now, the last point I'll make on this: We're still going to have to make some tough choices. There are just going to be some programs that simply don't work and we've got to eliminate them.
And so I don't think that there's any way of denying the fact that our -- my first priority and my first job is to get us on the path of economic recovery, to create 2.5 million jobs, to provide relief to middle-class families. But as soon as the recovery is well under way, then we've got to set up a long-term plan to reduce the structural deficit and make sure that we're not leaving a mountain of debt for the next generation.
Comments
I'm glad we're replacing a guy with the IQ of a doorknob with someone intelligent.
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | November 25, 2008 2:08 PM
I think Obama sees his job as public service. His predecessor saw his job a partisan director.
Obama will accomplish much more because he is appealing to a wider audience. This will affect scope and outlook of government as well as performance and this could last longer than his presidency.
Posted by: Ron M | November 25, 2008 6:16 PM
Kenny,
That guy who has the IQ of a doorknob, has a higher IQ than the two loons you trotted out to defeat him in 2000 and 2004.
Posted by: Terry | November 27, 2008 9:28 AM
As a libertarian, he scares the crap out of me, but I have to admit, he is saying all the right things. He is talking about cutting government programs that don't work and reducing the deficit. Pretty unheard of for liberal politics. I am cautiously optimistic at the moment even after I claimed he was building an army against the private sector in my latest entry at www.cosmicdogma.com - I am going to take a "wait and let's hope we're not socialist tomorrow" attitude.
Posted by: Chad | November 29, 2008 2:17 AM