By MARY GILBERT
President-elect Barack Obama has used this short week to dominate the news cycle with announcements on how he intends to fix the ailing economy. Speaking in Chicago today for his third consecutive midday press conference, Obama revealed his plan to create a special advisory panel led by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.
Obama said his new President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, modeled on President Eisenhower's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, would bring together experts "from diverse backgrounds outside of government -- from business, labor, academia and other areas -- who will bring to bear their wisdom and expertise on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of my administration's economic recovery plan." He explained the need for such a group by acknowledging that "sometimes policymaking in Washington can become too insular." It is crucial that the White House get input from people around the country about how its economic recovery plan is playing out on the ground, he said.
Volcker, the Fed chairman from 1979 to 1987 and a close adviser to Obama throughout his campaign, will serve as the board's chairman. Obama praised Volcker as "one of the world's foremost economic policy experts" and someone who has provided "keen insight into the global nature of this particular crisis."
"He pulls no punches. He seems to be fairly opinionated," Obama quipped, elicitng a chuckle from Volcker.
Austan Goolsbee, another close adviser to Obama, has been tapped as the board's staff director and chief economist and will act as the "primary liaison" between the group and the White House. Obama also announced that he intends to appoint Goolsbee as one of the three members of the Council of Economic Advisers.
The rest of the board's members will be selected over the coming weeks, the president-elect said.
Challenged by a reporter on whether the Clinton administration officials surfacing on his team represent the "change" he promised during his campaign, Obama insisted that his goal is to find people who combine experience with fresh thinking. It is the president's job to provide the vision for where he wants to take the country, and to select a team that can carry out those plans, Obama said. He added that Americans would probably be alarmed if he chose, for example, a Treasury secretary with no Washington experience to steer the country through the current economic crisis.
Obama also told the press that his family will be doing its part to stimulate the economy this weekend, as they plan on getting some Christmas shopping done. "Malia and Sasha have already put their lists together," he said, attempting to inject a note of optimism into his comments. While Americans are alarmed about their family budgets, "people should understand that help is on the way," he reassured viewers. "I hope that everyone understands that we are going to be able to get through these tough times, but we're just going to have to make some good choices."
