Well, he ain't whacko Pastor McBurnsAlot from Florida, but rumor has it that this is still a pretty important guy and that he's got something worthwhile to say. Discuss it here, and live feed coming shortly.
Update: Here's video:
Update 2: In a way, the first question was a softball, but only because it was so incredibly stupid. I'd transcribe it, but it would make my brain hurt too much: Basically, the AP reporter wanted to know why President Obama said that Democrats would lose the election if it were a referendum on the economy, and then asked shouldn't it be a referendum on how he handled the economy. (Note that she was too stupid to realize that those are two different things.) President Obama's answer was simple: the economy hasn't recovered yet. The issue isn't the state of the economy, it's the trajectory. And the choice is between the people who put us in the ditch and the people who are trying to take us out of it.
Update 2a: A perfect example, Pres. Obama said, of how Dems (and he) offer a better a choice than Republicans is that Dems, are the Bush tax cuts and the GOP's decision to hold tax cuts for the middle class hostage to tax cuts for the wealthy.
Update 3: Question is whether Obama is flexible on getting the middle-class tax cuts passed; would he be willing to accept any sort of temporary extension. Obama -- as usual -- says he won't rule out working with Republicans. But his argument is that since everybody agrees on the middle-class tax cuts, let's pass them now. Don't hold them hostage. Next, let's debate the tax cuts for the wealthy. They are two separate things. My analysis: unlike GOP, he won't adopt the same posture of holding the them hostage. Holding the middle-class tax cuts hostage is the GOP's gig -- not his.
Update 4: Question is: Why wait so long to announce the $50 billion infrastructure investment plan, and why not call it stimulus. President Obama responds by the end of his first full month in office he'd already passed the first stimulus bill and that the administration had signed 8 separate tax cuts into law. That's led to some growth, he says, but the economy hasn't recovered enough. So now the question is what else can be done. Obama says that usually infrastructure is an area where we can find bipartisan compromise, implicitly pointing out Republicans are obstructing progress. Then Chip Reid and he get into the question about the word "stimulus." And Obama agrees: he's trying to "stimulate growth and jobs," using the word "stimulate" 8 times to mock the beltway obsession with one word.
Update 5: Question is: Whither Elizabeth Warren? Answer: First, POTUS touts the consumer advocacy/oversight agency that was created by the Wall Street Reform bill. He credits Elizabeth Warren -- a "dear friend" -- with coming up with the idea of this agency. He says he has been "in conversations with her" and that she is "a tremendous advocate for this agency." "I'll have an announcement soon...I've had conversations." He says he won't announce his decision until it's "ready." Sure smells like pretty strong hints for Warren, though!
Update 5a: Question is whether Obama is concerned about confirmation. Answer is: "Of course!" He's concerned about ALL nominations given the Filibuster abuse.
Update 6: The Chuckster wants POTUS to say how he's changed DC. POTUS focuses on reorienting government to advocate for the public instead of powerful special interests. Financial reform, economics, environment, etc. POTUS also says if The Chuckster wants to know why he hasn't been able to usher in a new era of bipartisan kumbaya, POTUS acknowledges he hasn't been able to get Republicans to do the right thing. That they dug in their heels from the very start and have fought tooth and nail for special interests because there has been so much at stake in the policy battles. "There is no doubt that an option that was available to me was not to take on those issues," he says. But they were too important to ignore, citing health care costs and the tens of millions without insurance and financial reform. "I don't think that's the kind of leadership the American public would want from their president," he says. He takes some of the blame for the tone (too magnanimously, IMO) but mostly says it's just GOP's politics as usual.