Somber Obama meets the Press: Live Blog

Without taking any questions, President Obama addressed the state of the U.S. economy and the deaths of US troops this weekend.  The DJ dipped below 11,000 briefly while the President was speaking.  Obama said the country will always be a AAA country and quoted Warren Buffet who has said the country is AAAA.  However, this is a serious sell off and there’s a realization that there’s something wrong with the US economy.  The bond market is holding up better than the stock market which indicates that there is more concern about the economy than the US ability to pay debt. This was clearly an attempt to send a message to global markets and to US citizens that are panicked about a possible second recession during a period when we have clearly not recovered from the last one.

Obama asked for extensions for unemployment insurance and the payroll tax holiday.  He additionally said that his administration would be making recommendations to the super congress.  He called for expenditures on infrastructure.  He also wants to see ‘modest adjustments’ to Medicare.

The president says Washington didn’t need a downgrade to realize that it has a problem. “Our challenge is the need to tackle our deficits over the long term,” he says. (1:56 p.m.)

Obama says the debt agreement reached was “historic,” but that there isn’t much more that can be done to reduce defense or discretionary domestic spending.

He suggests “tax reform that would ask those who can afford it to pay their fair share,” and “modest” adjustments to health care programs like Medicare should be the next step. (1:57 p.m.)

Next, Obama calls on Congress to “put what’s best for the country ahead of self interest, ideology or party.”

He says he will present his own recommendations on how to proceed. “That committee will have this administration’s full cooperation.” (1:58 p.m.)

Continuing to discuss the economy, Obama says the country’s “most immediate concern” is jobs. If the government can deal with the deficit, there would be “more room” to pursue proposals that can get the economy growing faster, he explains. (1:59 p.m.)

Obama calls on Congress to extend the payroll tax cut “as soon as possible,” saying Republicans have agreed to do so countless times in the past.

The president then recalls the earthquake in Japan and unrest in the Middle East that have resulted in higher gas prices. “How we respond to those tests, that’s entirely up to us,” he says. (1:59 p.m.)

Obama recalls the earthquake in Japan and unrest in the Middle East that have resulted in higher gas prices. “How we respond to those tests, that’s entirely up to us.”

“Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America,” he says. “No matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a triple-A country.”

The market plunge stabilized during the speech, but appears to be back on its downward spiral. It’s back below 11,000 again.  There was little was no new information so that would be expected.

The President also mentioned the deaths of 30 US troops and 7 Afghani in that Chinook helicopter. A Pentagon statement today mentioned that the catastrophic nature of the disaster means that the remains are not identifiable.