December 11, 2008, 10:57 am
The Obama Press Conference
President-elect Barack Obama introduced former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary-designate on Thursday in Chicago. (Photo: Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
Bottom Line | 11:59 a.m. Mr. Obama was certainly more assertive in his condemnation of the Illinois scandal than he had been a couple of days ago, and he stated flatly that he had no involvement with the selling of his Senate seat.
Complete transcript
The U.S. attorney had also said there was no indication that Mr. Obama was in any way involved. But Mr. Obama did note that his staff was still gathering facts about whether anyone on his team might have been involved, leaving the door open that some inconvenient news could emerge. It seems unlikely that Mr. Obama’s statements today will put these questions to rest.
And poor Mr. Daschle! Like Al Gore on Monday, Mr. Obama’s co-stars were overlooked as reporters questioned Mr. Obama about the scandal. Still, in the health-care question, Mr. Obama indicated quite clearly that the Bush tax cuts may not be rolled back as fast as he had promised, if at all. In the end, of course, dealing with health care and the rest of the economic emergency in this country will have a more lasting effect on his presidency than the current scandal in his home state.
Back to Health Care | 11:52 a.m. The last question went to Debbie Charles of Reuters, who said she wanted to ask a question about health care, at the risk of disappointing her colleagues who might want to pursue the Blagojevich matter. She asked how Mr. Obama could fund his health care program, given the economic downturn; she noted that he had originally said he would pay for his health care plan by repealing the Bush tax cuts.
December 10, 2008, 8:08 pm
Obama Is Filling Energy Slots
Barack Obama has settled on Steven Chu as Energy Secretary and Nancy Sutley as the chairwoman of the White House Council on...