Obama tempers optimism with reality on economy

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-14 23:51

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama proclaimed signs of economic progress Tuesday but also warned Americans eager for good news that "by no means are we out of the woods."

Obama tempers optimism with reality on economy

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, says that the US will seek to halt the increasing threat of piracy off the Horn of Africa as he also praised the US military's successful rescue of merchant Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage for several days by Somali pirates, Monday, April 13, 2009, during remarks at the Transportation Department in Washington. [Agencies]

In a speech at Georgetown University, Obama aimed to juggle his glass-half-full take on the economy with a determination to not be stamped as naive or overly rosy in the face of stubborn problems that linger.

His latest remarks come as he nears the symbolic 100-day mark in office, important because that has become a traditional marker by which to judge new administrations.

"There is no doubt that times are still tough," Obama said, according to excerpts of his speech released in advance by the White House. "But from where we stand," he said, "for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope. And beyond that, way off in the distance, we can see a vision of an America's future that is far different than our troubled economic past."

Obama's message was enveloped in contradictory signals Tuesday about the economy's health, but also buttressed by a contention by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the recession may be bottoming out.

Retail sales fell unexpectedly in March, decreasing by 1.1 percent. At the same time, wholesale prices dropped sharply as the cost of gasoline and other energy plummeted, fresh evidence that inflation appears to pose little threat to the economy.

In a speech prepared for students and faculty at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Bernanke, like Obama, said there have been flickering signs of improvement, citing recent data on home and auto sales, home building and consumer spending.

But the broader message that a full turnaround might be a long time coming may not be welcome to a weary US public.

Obama said a complete recovery depends on two things: building a new foundation for the US economy and making changes in the political landscape. And he was avoiding any significant policy announcements, endeavoring instead to paint a broad picture of what his administration has already done to right the situation.

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