President Obama is holding his first press conference since May, and his 8th since taking office.
His opening remarks focused on his efforts to revive the economy.
Even though the economy is growing again... the hole the recession left was huge. Progress has been painfully slow...
He called out continued Republican obstructionism while praising Voinovich for stepping up to break a continued filibuster on the small business bill.
He also announced the appointment of Austan Goolsbee as the new Chairman of of the Council of Economic Advisors, replacing Christina Romer.
See comments thread for updates on questions and his responses, and be sure to check out Jed's FP liveblog for additional details
This feed should have sound:
AP report up:
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama insisted Friday that the U.S. economy is showing improvement from the deepest recession in decades but conceded the "progress has been painfully slow." He said he understands that many voters in November's elections may blame the weak recovery on him.
[snip]
Facing the possibility of a GOP blowout in November, Obama insisted again that Bush-era tax cuts be extended for individuals earning less than $200,000 a year and joint filers earning under $250,000. All the tax cuts are due to expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts.
Obama said Congress shouldn't delay extending the middle-class tax cuts any longer.
"Why hold it up? Why hold the middle class hostage," he said.
He said extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans "is a bad idea."
[snip]
...when he was asked directly whether the unpopularity of the first stimulus was why White House officials weren't using that word this time, Obama said:
"I have no problem with people saying the president is trying to stimulate growth and jobs. There's no doubt that everything we've been trying to do ... is designed to stimulate growth and jobs in the entire economy." He said he hoped Republicans had the same goal.