President-elect Obama holds first press conference

President-elect Barack Obama promised on Friday to keep his pledge for middle class tax relief during his first news conference since winning the election.

Flanked by vice president-elect Joe Biden, soon to be White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and his team of economic advisers, the president-elect called for an emergency rescue plan for the middle class, aid to small businesses and promised to review the implementation of the $700 billion bailout passed by Congress earlier this year.

The press conference took place in Chicago after the president-elect met with his economic advisers. The Obama transition team has already released a list of his transition's economic advisory board members and launched a new website, called change.gov, for the transition process.

"This morning, we woke up to more sobering news about the state of our economy," Obama said, noting that 240,000 jobs were lost in October, according to the Labor Department. The new numbers mark the tenth consecutive month that the U.S. economy has shed jobs, bringing the total job loss for the year to nearly 1.2 million.

"Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes," said the president-elect. "Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime, and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it."

With expectations high, Obama was careful not to promise too much before he takes office. "The United States has only one government and one president at a time. And until January 20th of next year, that government is the current administration," he said.

"Immediately after I become president, I'm going to confront this economic crisis head on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity."

Obama and his wife Michelle will be visiting the White House on Monday at the invitation of President and Laura Bush, and he said today that he had spoken with Bush, along with all living past presidents, Clinton, Carter and the elder President Bush.

The incoming president said his first priority would be "a rescue plan for the middle class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provide relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear." This would include extension of unemployment benefits and a fiscal stimulus plan, he said.

His second priority was to address "the spreading impact of the financial crisis on the other sectors of our economy." He said small businesses and state and municipal governments have been particularly hurt. The president-elect also cited the ailing auto industry, which he called "the backbone of American manufacturing and a critical part of our attempt to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

Obama did not take a position on a proposed bailout for the industry but did promise to do everything he could "to accelerate the retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted" and said his transition team would "work on additional policy options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis, and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States of America."

His third priority, he said, was to "review the implementation" of the $700 billion rescue package passed last month to ensure that the plan is "stabilizing financial markets while protecting taxpayers, helping homeowners, and not unduly rewarding the management of financial firms that are receiving government assistance."

President-elect Obama said it is "absolutely critical" that the Treasury Department work closely with the FDIC, HUD, and other government agencies to use help families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.

In an effort to tamp down unreasonably high expectations, Obama warned that "some of the choices that we make are going to be difficult," and he cautioned that solutions would not be quick or easy. "But America is a strong and resilient country. And I know we will succeed, if we put aside partisanship and politics and work together as one nation. That's what I intend to do."

President-elect takes questions

President-elect Obama took questions from the press during his first news conference. He said a new president could do "an enormous amount to restore confidence" in the first 100 days of an administration and said he would like to see a stimulus package passed either before or after his inauguration.

Asked about a letter sent from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad note congratulating him on his victory, Obama said he was "aware" that the letter was sent but said he had not responded yet and repeated his belief that Iran's development of a nuclear weapon is "unacceptable" and its support of terrorist organizations "has to cease." He also tried to walk a fine line between current policy and new policy. "I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president and I won't be until January 20th."

During a discussion about filling key cabinet posts, the president-elect would not give a timeline for decisions to be made. "When we have an announcement about cabinet appointments, we will make them," he said. But he did promise to move with all "deliberate haste," emphasizing both words in the quote.

Asked a question by a local reporter about his preference for his replacement in the U.S. Senate, Obama said "This is the governor's decision; it is not my decision." Nevertheless, he identified two important criteria for the job, including "somebody who is capable" and "somebody who is passionate about helping working families in Illinois meet their dreams." Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois has been mentioned as a possible successor to Obama.

There were some light moments during the half hour session as well. Asked how he was preparing for the job, the president-elect said he had spoken to former presidents and re-read some of Lincoln's writings.

Asked about the puppy that he promised for his daughters Malia and Sasha, he said his daughter Malia is allergic so the dog has to be hypoallergenic and he said he preferred to find a shelter dog. "But, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me," he said.

And when asked about the school choice for his daughters in Washington, Obama said his wife Michelle would be scouting out some schools and making a decision about that in the future.