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Amid catastrophic economic headlines of rising unemployment and a collapsing automobile industry, Barack Obama was the Story of the Day. He held his first press conference since winning the Presidential election and his topic was the looming recession. Backed by his transition team's economic advisors--including two former Secretaries of the Treasury and a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board--he promised to make economic revival his policy priority upon taking office in January. Obama was the unanimous choice as lead on every newscast, with all three kicking off from Chicago.

The brief press conference--NBC's Lee Cowan counted just nine questions--focused on the economy but included few details. ABC's Jake Tapper summarized Obama's agenda as a simple two-parter, "to convey an air of command about the economy and, two, to avoid stepping on President Bush's toes." Thus Obama urged the lame-duck session of Congress to pass an economic stimulus but conceded that if his predecessor were not to enact it, "it will be the first thing I get done as President." As for that cash drain that is now the automobile industry, Obama assigned it as a "high priority" to his transition team to develop policies to help Detroit.

All three correspondents assessed Obama's demeanor. CBS' Chip Reid thought he was "extraordinarily calm, even showing a sense of humor." NBC's Cowan noticed that Obama "seemed genuinely surprised the see the press corps standing, out of respect," as he entered the room. ABC's Tapper perceived the mood after his meeting with his economic team as "sobering."

Watching from Washington, George Stephanopoulos of ABC's This Week pointed out "how much different it feels when you walk out there" as President-elect as opposed to mere candidate. Bob Schieffer (no link), host of CBS' Face the Nation, found "some insight into how he is going to operate," perceiving Obama as "someone who does not move until he gets all the pieces in place." On NBC, political director Chuck Todd (at the tail of the Caruso-Cabrera videostream) interpreted Obama as telling the public: "Remember, this is not on my watch...It is still on this guy's resume."


Andrew Tyndall 11/10/08 5:27:09 pm

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