WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Obama picks Volcker as economy adviser
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-27 09:42 Later on Wednesday Obama and his family handed out food to poor people in Chicago's South Side neighborhood ahead of the November 27 Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to naming his top economic advisers, Obama has come closer to forming his national security team, with reports saying that current Defense Secretary Robert Gates will remain in his post and retired Marine Gen. James Jones will take over as national security adviser. Those appointments, along with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, are likely to be made early next week, after the November 27 US Thanksgiving holiday. For now Obama has put his focus squarely on the economy, pledging a costly stimulus package that he urged the next Congress to pass quickly. On Tuesday, he vowed to cut billions of dollars in wasteful government spending. But questions remain about both goals. Obama declined to put a figure on the stimulus package, other Democrats have said it could cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and he did not identify specific government programs to be cut to help pay for it. "I think would hardly be expected to provide you a detailed list now," he told the news conference when asked about potential cuts. "The expectation is is that we will identify those programs that are not working, make sure that those are eliminated, and put money into programs that do work." Analysts said Obama's economic pronouncements showed the next president stepping into a leadership void left by Bush. "Confidence in Bush as an effective president has eroded so substantially that he is no longer taken seriously," said Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University. "There is, of course, much more confidence in Obama or he would not have been elected as president," Beck said. "And he is the president-in-waiting, so the only alternative the country has to Bush as a leader, especially in a period when the markets have failed and government must play an enlarged role in them." Obama has not shied away from telling struggling industries like banks and automakers to take responsibility for their ailing position in the economy. In an interview with the ABC television, Obama said bank executives should forego their bonuses this year. |
