Obama to tout economic progress at press grilling

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 9:31 PM Posted by Beijing News


US President Barack Obama on Tuesday told his crisis-weary nation he sees signs of economic progress but pleaded for time to navigate out of the worst economic maelstrom in decades.

Obama called a prime time news conference Tuesday to tout his 3.6 trillion dollar budget as the key to national recovery, during an intense week of economic and foreign policy rollouts ahead of his first big trip abroad next week.

In excerpts of his opening statement to be delivered at the news conference - due to begin at 8 pm 0000 GMT -- the president said during two hectic months in office his government had framed a comprehensive strategy to attack the crisis on "all fronts."

"It's a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, to restart lending, and to grow our economy over the long-term. And we are beginning to see signs of progress."

"We will recover from this recession, but it will take time, it will take patience," the statement said.

The president added his budget, which has been assailed by Republicans who say it will run up huge deficits for years, would create clean energy jobs, promote a highly skilled workforce and make healthcare affordable.

"That's why this budget is inseparable from this recovery -- because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity."

The showpiece White House press event will be the culmination of a week-long public relations offensive designed to raise Obama's agenda above the clamor of a row over AIG bonus payments and doubts about his recovery plans.

The news conference follows the president's interviews on iconic network programs "The Tonight Show" and "60 Minutes" and a swing through California last week.

Obama next week takes his first big steps on the world stage at the Group of 20 summit in London on April 2 -- when he will have his first encounters with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev.

He will then go to a NATO summit on the France-German border between April 3 and 4, visit the Czech Republic and then go to Turkey in his first visit to a Muslim nation as president.

Obama set the stage for his trip by blitzing global newspapers with an op-ed piece on Tuesday, calling on leaders of global economies to take "bold, comprehensive and coordinated action" to stem worldwide economic turmoil.

"We are living through a time of global economic challenges that cannot be met by half measures or the isolated efforts of any nation," Obama wrote in a commentary published in more than 30 newspapers around the world.

"Now, the leaders of the Group of 20 have a responsibility to take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but also launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again."

The United States prescribes economic stimulus plans and more financial regulation to respond to the worst global economic slump in generations.

But some European states have warned that going further into debt to stimulate demand may not be the answer and have called for more far reaching regulatory reform than that advocated by Washington.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, fresh from outlining long awaited details of a long awaited banking rescue on Monday, was later in the week set to roll out a new regulator framework for the crippled finance industry.

"We are also going to have to be much more effective diplomatically, we are going to have to be much more effective on the development front."





Bleier

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