Hi everyone. We are live-blogging President Obama‘s first prime-time presidential press conference. Refresh often. Thanks!
SEE RELATED:
— 9:00: POTUS offers, “Thank you guys.” And that’s a wrap.
— 9:00: No questions on Daschle/Solis/tax problems.
— 8:57: Obama doesn’t mention he “inherited” debt, but says they doubled it. Adds Republicans don’t “have a lot of credibility when it comes to fiscal responsibility”
— 8:56: Whew! Glad I brought my homemade banana chocolate chip cookies with me to the White House tonight! Live blogging is exhausting!
— 8:54: NPR gets thirteenth and last question, it’s on the stimulus process and how hard it’s been for Obama to bring Republicans on board.
— 8:52: Question 12 goes to Huffington Post, and reporter asks about whether he’ll pursue charges against former President Bush.
— 8:50: The question (No. 11) is on Pakistan and whether he knows of any country in Middle East with nuclear weapons.
— 8:49: POTUS calls on maven Helen Thomas, calling it an “inaugural moment” and says “I’m really excited.”
— 8:47: Wash Post gets tenth question. Which was on A-Rod. 8:48: I couldn’t hear because everyone in the briefing room was laughing.
— 8:45: POTUS gets first laughs from the room, saying he can’t remember exactly what VPOTUS was referring to.
— 8:45: Fox gets ninth question, on VP Biden saying there was a 30 percent chance the White House would get stimulus plan wrong.
— 8:43: NY Times gets eighth question as POTUS makes up for long answers early.
— 8:43: “I don’t yet have a timetable for how long that is going to take.”
— 8:41: “With respect to Afghanistan, this is going to be a big challenge.”
— 8:39: CNN questions on Afghanistan troop levels and transparency at Pentagon.
— 8:39: CNN gets seventh question — and he asks TWO!
— 8:38: POTUS: “I don’t have a crystal ball … but my hope is that after a difficult year … and biz start investing again and start making decisions … if we get things right then starting next year” things will get better.
— 8:36: ABC gets sixth question, on — surprise! — the economy.
— 8:35: POTUS: “We don’t know yet whether we’re going to need additional money or how much additional money we are going to need.”
— 8:34: British journo Toby Harnden points out to me on Twitter that I wrote “I will be live-blogging the first POUTS press conference tonight at http://www.washingtontimes.com.” Harnden asked, “POUTS. Is that a president who doesn’t get his way?”
— 8:32: Bloomberg star Julianna Goldman gets fifth question, asks won’t the government need more money to help with credit crunch.
— 8:30: “The party now is over.”
— 8:28: Moving on to fourth question from NBC, also on the economy, asking what got us into the fiscal crisis.
— 8:28: Still on third question, Obama says, “Doing nothing not an option.”
— 8:25: POTUS still talking about economy, presser nearly half over.
— 8:24: Joe Curl emails that someone in the room “held up a sign that said Israel” and yelled. That didn’t come through on our audio feed in the press room, but could provide for some drama.
— 8:23: Reminds everyone again “I inherited” the fiscal situation.
— 8:23: POTUS still talking about bipartisanship.
— 8:19: CBS gets third question, which is on bipartisanship.
— 8:19: POTUS says there is possibility for relationship of mutual respect with Iran.
— 8:17: A reporter in press room quips that POTUS comment about past relations with Iran being “not helpful” was “polite.”
— 8:16: Reuters question on Iran and timetable for Iraq withdrawal.
— 8:15: POTUS still on first question. At this rate, he’s not going to be taking all that many.
— 8:14: Obama notes that tomorrow Treasury Secretary Geithner will outline “clear and specific plans” to loosen up credit.
— 8:13: POTUS says he did not pluck $800+ billion price tag “out of a hat.”
— 8:10: Responding to AP question on his dire economic language, POTUS says a delay could force the U.S. to end up “like Japan.” He adds what is first money line of the night: “This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession.”
— 8:09: AP gets first question.
— 8:08: Obama thanks members of Congress, asks them to “act without delay.”
— 8:07: Take that No. 43! My administration “inherited deficit of over 1 trillion dollars.”
— 8:07: POTUS says stimulus “does not contain a single pet project … [but] the plan is not perfect.”
— 8:06: Plan must be “big enough and bold enough.” Adds the current plan has “compromises” from both parties.
— 8:05: First shot at Republicans comes: “Tax cuts alone can’t solve all of our economic problems” [especially those for the wealthy] “We have tried that strategy time and time again and it’s only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now.”
— 8:04: Obama offers details on tax credits, saying they will put money in pockets of Americans most likely to spend it.
— 8:03: Talking point - stimulus will “save or create up to 4 million jobs.” “Because that is what America needs right now.”
— 8:03: Obama mentions long line for firefighter jobs in Miami, a recent talking point from the White House.
— 8:02: POTUS mentions his trip earlier to Elkhart, Indiana, where the unemployment rate stands at 15.3 percent.
— 8:01: It begins. Reporters stand.
— 7:59: Two minute warning heard over the speakers. Sigh of relief from those of us left behind.
— 7:59: Meanwhile, back in the press room, we aren’t hearing any audio, trying not to worry. “I’m not hearing anything from anywhere!” one worried scribe exclaimed.
— 7:59: Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel and Phil Schiliro are huddling in the back of the room.
— 7:58: Jon sent over his rough sketch of who is sitting where, and it is not exactly the same layout as the briefing room. He says AP, Reuters, Ebony/Jet magazines and Helen Thomas are in the front row. Second row includes Bloomberg, New York Times, USA Today, CBS, Washington Post. The third row is ABC, LA Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Politico, NBC and Newsweek. Fox is in the fourth row, along with Jon, Mother Jones, AFP, Time, the Baltimore Sun and Times Picayune.
— 7:52: White House sends out POTUS’ opening remarks, which are embargoed, so stay tuned.
— 7:52: Before we get started, Jon Ward filed this blog (http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/potus-notes/2009/Feb/09/massive-journo-turnout-for-obama-presser/) about the packed house of more than 160 outlets for President Obama’s first press conference. I filed this blog earlier (http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/bellantoni/2009/Feb/09/who-will-get-questions-tonight/) about the 62 questions Obama took during the transition period.
— Christina Bellantoni, White House correspondent,
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