Politics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― In his first news conference since Election Day, President-elect Barack Obama said the United States is facing the "greatest economic challenge of our lifetimes."

 Obama's Full Remarks On Economy

Obama met with his economic advisers Friday, and -- flanked by his advisers, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff appointee Rahm Emanuel -- met the press for the first time since Nov. 4.

"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,"  he said.

He called for an extension of unemployment insurance benefits and a new economic stimulus package "sooner rather than later." Obama also called for attention to the woes of small businesses and the auto industry.

Obama emphasized that until Jan. 20, President Bush remains in office. He said he will discuss economic issues with President Bush next week and planned to set aside politics during their meeting.

"The American people need help, the economy is in bad shape, and we have just completed one of the longest election cycles in history," he said.

Although he acknowledged receiving a note of congratulations from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Obama indicated his return note might have a tougher tone, given Iran's ambitions for nuclear weapons. 

"We have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening," Obama said. "Iran's support of terrorist organizations is something that has to cease. I will be reviewing the letter from President Ahmadinejad, and we will respond appropriately."

Obama also addressed the issue of who might be selected as his successor in the U.S. Senate. Gov. Rod Blagojevich will make an appointment to replace President-elect Obama.

"This is the governor's decision, it is not my diction, and I think the criteria I would have for my successor would be the same criteria I would have as a voter," Obama said, citing a commitment to the working families of Illinois as among the most important qualities.

Obama seemed a bit surprised at the reception he received when he first walked into the Chicago news conference. As they have for every president, reporters stood when he entered.

"Oh, wow! Thank you," he told members of the media.

Obama's tone was serious as he discussed the daunting issues facing the nation, but the Chicago Democrat managed to make a few humorous remarks. That included shouting "Bonjour!" to a French journalist. 

"I see a far more graver person ... there is an inner seriousness," said Chicago Sun-Times Washington correspondent Lynn Sweet, who covered Obama's presidential bid for the past several months.

The only questions Obama took Friday came from a prepared list that included the Chicago Tribune and Sun-times as well as national TV networks and newspapers. Obama has never been the most accessible candidate. But now that he's in that Secret Service security cocoon, he'll be even less so.

A total of 1,000 members of the world media gathered for the news conference, along with William Daley, brother of Mayor Richard M. Daley and commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton; and fundraiser Penny Pritzker.

Earlier Friday, Obama and his wife attended a parent-teacher conference at the University of Chicago Lab School, before Obama convened his economic advisory board meeting.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major Wall Street indices were up Friday, new figures on unemployment were dismal.

The nation's unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, stark proof the economy is almost certainly in a recession.

The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.

Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.

October's decline marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions, and government revisions showed that job losses in August and September turned out to be much deeper. Employers cut 127,000 positions in August, compared with 73,000 previously reported. A whopping 284,000 jobs were axed in September, compared with the 159,000 jobs first reported.

So far this year, a staggering 1.2 million jobs have disappeared. Over half of the decrease occurred in the past three months alone.

The mortgage crisis has received most of the blame for the current economic situation. It is also blamed for the failure of a series of major banks and other financial institutions that traded in mortgage-backed securities.

In his campaign, President-elect Obama blamed deregulation during the Reagan administration for creating the conditions that allowed the crisis.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum, Mike Flannery and Jay Levine and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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