Meeting the Press

President Obama holds his first prime-time press conference

• PRINT
• EMAIL

Last night, President Barack Obama held his first prime-time press conference, in the East Room of the White House.

Usually, the President holds press conferences in the daytime. But sometimes he'll hold a press event in the evening to reach more Americans about an important topic.

The focus of much of the hour-long event last night was President Obama's plan for dealing with America's growing economic recession.

Before taking questions from reporters, Obama spoke for eight minutes about the economy. The address was aimed at generating support among everyday Americans for his $800 billion Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which is currently being finalized by Congress.

The President said his plan would create or save millions of jobs by putting people to work rebuilding roads and bridges and creating 21st century classrooms, libraries, and labs for America's children. More jobs would be created by investing in sources of alternative energy, like wind and solar power. The plan would also provide relief to homeowners having trouble paying their mortgages.

"My bottom line is to make sure that we are saving or creating four million jobs, we are making sure that the financial system is working again, that homeowners are getting some relief," Obama said.

After speaking directly about the economy, Obama answered questions from members of the media. Most wanted to know more about his plans for the economy. But others wanted to know Obama's thoughts on Iraq, Afghanistan, and steroids in baseball.

On Iraq, Obama praised the work of America's troops and diplomats for ensuring that Iraq's recent elections went relatively peacefully.

When speaking about Afghanistan, the President said there was a lot of work to do. He said Afghanistan's national government seems too detached from what's happening in its country. And America, he added, needs to ensure that terrorists will no longer have a safe haven in Afghanistan.

Obama also took a question about New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.

It was revealed this week that Rodriguez had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Obama said the news tarnished an entire era of baseball and that it sent the wrong message to kids. But he hoped that kids watching what's happening to some of baseball's stars are learning an important lesson.

"[I think] that our kids, hopefully, are watching and saying, you know what, there are no shortcuts, that when you try to take shortcuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity is not worth it," Obama said. "That's the message I hope is communicated."

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Read today’s story and answer the following question.

If you were at a presidential press conference and had a chance to ask the President a question, what would you ask? Tell us what you think on the Scholastic News Online Blog!

ECONOMY FOR KIDS

Learn more about the economy and how it works in this special report.

MORE NEWS FOR KIDS

Get the latest on national and international events, movies, television, music, sports, and more from Scholastic News Online.

 

Congressional Divide
For the first time in his presidency, Republican George W. Bush gave his State of the Union speech to a Congress controlled by Democrats. The President gave his sixth annual State of the Union address Tuesday night in the nation's Capitol. The speech, which is required by the Constitution, was televised nationally at a time when the President's popularity in polls is at an all-time low.

Election 2008: How Hollywood Does It
Fred Thompson makes his bid for President official on September 5, 2007.

ONLINE ACTIVITY	Election 2008: Kid Reporters Blog the Debates Scholastic Kid Reporters blog the 2008 presidential and vice presidential debates.