Obama: Economic rescue will trump deficit figh
The president-elect set no goals for reducing the federal deficit now in record territory and headed ever higher an obvious contrast to Monday's announcement that he hopes to create a recession-busting 2.5 million jobs by 2010.
He spoke as he appointed Peter Orszag, currently head of the Congressional Budget Office, to be his own budget director.
Obama's comments came at his second news conference in as many days, an unusual pre-inaugural burst of activity that he said reflected "the extraordinary circumstances" he will inherit on Jan. 20.
With his Electoral College landslide victory, Obama said he possesses a "mandate to move the country in a new direction, and not continue the same old practices that have gotten us into the fix we're in."
At the same time, the Democratic president-elect pledged to consult with Republicans and approach his administration with humility "and a recognition that wisdom is not the monopoly of any one party."
Obama's promise to be careful with a federal buck was placed in a larger context.
The picture took on troubling new dimensions a few hours before he spoke when the Commerce Department reported economic activity declined at a rate of 0.5 percent in the three months ending in September.
Further underscoring weakness, Americans' disposable income fell at an annual rate of 9.2 percent in the same period, the largest drop in records that date to 1947.
The federal budget deficit was a record $455 billion for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, and is certain to be higher this year possibly reaching $1 trillion as the costs of a financial bailout and an economic stimulus are piled on top of smaller-than-expected tax receipts.
Against that backdrop, Obama said, "Budget reform is not an option. It is an imperative. We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness, or exist solely because of the power of a politician, lobbyist or interest group."
As an example, he cited a report that from 2003 to 2006, millionaire farmers received crop subsidies totaling $49 million that they may not have been entitled to.
"If this is true, it is a prime example of the kind of waste I intend to end as president."
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