Barack Obama

I think what you're also going to see is a team that is committed to breaking with some of the past practices.

I'm concerned about this.

That's what the American people are looking for.

I strongly believe that a president or a president-elect or his team should be able to do more than one thing at a time.

Right now, the most important task for us is to stabilize the patient. The economy is badly damaged; it is very sick. And so we have to take whatever steps are required to make sure that it is stabilized.

I think the notion that somehow the Commerce Secretary is not going to be central to everything we do is fundamentally mistaken.

We are in one of those periods in American history where we don't have Republican and Democratic problems. We've got American problems.

I strongly believe that a President or a President-elect or his team should be able to do more than one thing at a time.

The most important message today is that the situation is getting worse. We've got to act boldly and we've got to act swiftly.

I can't think of a better partner in doing what is necessary to get this economy back on track than Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

I am confident that the American people will benefit from their experience and expertise.

We've got an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us.

I am honored to have this talented group of individuals joining my staff.

It is with deep regret that I accept Governor Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his name for nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce.

I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration.

We can't just fall into the old Washington habit of throwing money at the problem.

We will create three million new jobs, more than eighty percent of them in the private sector.

I am optimistic that if we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of any party, or the agenda of any one group, but the aspirations of all Americans, then we will meet the challenges of our time.

These are America's problems, and we must come together as Americans to meet them with the urgency this moment demands.

We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results.

And in this new year, let us resolve to do so once again.

America faces great and growing challenges—challenges that threaten our nation's economy and our dreams for the future.

We are a people of boundless industry and ingenuity.

Self-determination is a basic right to be addressed no matter how difficult

We will work to give a voice to the people of Puerto Rico to enable them to determine their political future.