President Obama Urges Economic Patience
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, President Obama hailing signs of progress in the economy, but also counseling patience and saying he would be persistent, laying out a budget to a country that has learned to think in terms of trillions of dollars and coping with the outrage over millions in bonus money for AIG fat cats, still wielding enormous popularity, but tonight facing growing resistance from congressional Democrats. Tonight, the president was trying to talk around them, directly to you, the American people. In a moment, we will talk about how he did. But, throughout the next hour, we want to be playing you clips, extended clips, supersized samples of the president, so, if you missed the news conference or maybe drifted off during it, we will bring you the most important parts. Here is what the president said before he took questions, an extended clip of his opening statement.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The budget I submitted to Congress will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation so that we don't face another crisis like this 10 or 20 years from now. We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil. We invest in our schools and our teachers, so that our children have the skills they need to compete with any workers in the world. We invest in reform that will bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses and our government. And in this budget, we have -- we have to make the tough choices necessary to cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term. You know, there was a lot of outrage and finger-pointing last week, and much of it is understandable. I'm as angry as anybody about those bonuses that went to some of the very same individuals who brought our financial system to its knees, partly because it's yet another symptom of the culture that led us to this point. But one of the most important lessons to learn from this crisis is that our economy only works if we recognize that we're all in this together, that we all have responsibilities to each other and to our country. Bankers and executives on Wall Street need to realize that enriching themselves on the taxpayers' dime is inexcusable, that the days of outsized rewards and reckless speculation that puts us all at risk have to be over. At the same time, the rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit. That drive is what has always fueled our prosperity, and it is what will ultimately get these banks lending and our economy moving once more. We'll recover from this recession, but it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that, when we all work together, when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interest to the wider set of obligations we have towards each other, that's when we succeed, that's when we...</s>COOPER: So, that's how the news conference began, before they started asking questions. When reporters started, some of the questions got tough tonight. The testy exchange was between our own Ed Henry and the president over AIG. Joining me now, chief national correspondent John King, senior political analyst Gloria Borger, chief business correspondent Ali Velshi. CNN's Joe Johns is here with us, also political contributors Paul Begala and Alex Castellanos, from the left and right, respectively, and, as always, senior political analyst, David Gergen. David, let's start with you. We just heard the president say he was as angry as anybody about those AIG bonuses. But -- but I want to play for our viewers what happened when Ed Henry pressed him on that and said, why didn't he express the anger earlier? Take a listen.</s>ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Why did you wait -- why did you wait days to come out and express that outrage? It seems like the action is coming out of New York and the attorney general's office. It took you days to come public with Secretary Geithner and say, "Look, we're outraged." Why did it take so long?</s>OBAMA: It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak.</s>COOPER: Clearly, David, the president was not eager to -- to talk a lot about AIG tonight. Was -- was part of what he was trying to do was move beyond that?</s>DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. And he was -- he was testy with Ed Henry tonight. He got a little short with him. And, you know, he -- he -- and I think he wanted to cut it off. I think he had two things, Anderson. There's an embarrassment on the part of the administration. They realize they didn't handle this as well as they might have. But, secondly -- and very importantly -- at the end of his statement tonight, he said, we need to come together and let's stop -- you know, the bankers have to understand things, but let's not demonize every investor and entrepreneur. That was a very important signal for him to send, because he's trying to persuade the business community to come and play ball with him now on this banking plan. And central to recovery is whether the Geithner plan that was presented yesterday, will it will work -- will it work or not? That's very central.</s>COOPER: John King, do you think he's been able to turn the corner on the AIG bonus issue?</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He wants to turn the corner to the budget issue and the bigger structural issues about the financial institution bailout, this new authority they want. Has he been able to turn the corner? No, because they will continue to get asked some questions. If not in a press conference setting, then his team will get asked these questions when they go up to Capitol Hill, because there is an inconsistency that, in the eyes of many, the administration has not completely answered, which was that the language in the Obama stimulus plan that protected those bonuses was put there by the Obama Treasury Department. And, so, how can you match -- match that up with the president of the the United States voicing outrage at these bonuses, when the language protecting them was put in by his administration? And there's a big question. And I tried to ask his top economic adviser this past weekend, how could that happen? Why the disconnect? And she said, well, I can't explain the ticktock to you, or it serves no purpose to go back and do the ticktock. There are many, especially the president's critics, who see a little bit of a political opening there who want to connect those dots.</s>COOPER: So, Alex Castellanos, from the right perspective, was the president accurate when he said, "I wanted to know what I talked about before I said it"?</s>ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think, tonight we, saw the first hint, Anderson -- and it's only a small hint -- of a president who could be a one-termer. We saw some impatience beneath the surface on this Ed Henry question, which I thought was entirely fair, you know, that, evidently, our educational system is not in as good a shape as we thought, because neither the Congress, the Democrats there, or the president could actually read the stimulus bill. This is language that they wrote, that Congress voted for, and the president signed, and they still seemed to be shocked and outraged and angry even tonight that these executives at AIG took the bonuses that the Democrats and the president gave them.</s>COOPER: So, why -- why does this make him a one -- a one-termer, perhaps?</s>CASTELLANOS: Well, you know, there's a short step from self- confidence to arrogance. And, tonight, we saw some impatience that lies not very deep beneath the surface of this president. This is a young president. This is a very confident president. But this is a president that doesn't really have a lot of economic experience. He's -- as far as creating prosperity himself. He doesn't really have that much political experience. And, when tested tonight, we saw a little flash just under the surface -- again, small hint.</s>COOPER: I see...</s>CASTELLANOS: Look, this is still an incredibly popular guy and a gifted communicator. But, in advertising, there's a saying. Nothing kills a bad product quicker than good advertising.</s>COOPER: I see David Gergen shaking his head, and I see Paul Begala grinding his back teeth.</s>COOPER: Paul, what do you think about what Alex just said?</s>PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, the guy is 64 days into the job. He's got about a 64 percent approval rating. And Alex is proposing that he's a one-term president. Look, how about we give him what the American people gave him, a four-year no-cut contract? And, then, if he's a miserable failure at the end of four years, we will do like we did with Bush, and reelect him anyway.</s>CASTELLANOS: But, you know, George Bush -- when George Bush said...</s>CASTELLANOS: When George Bush said, it's hard work, it wasn't -- it was a laughing -- a thing that we could laugh about.</s>COOPER: We...</s>CASTELLANOS: Tonight, this president says, you know, it's hard work. It's OK when those things reach his desk.</s>COOPER: All right, we're going to have everyone get in on this. We have got to take a short break, a lot more with our extended panel tonight. Everyone is weighing in on the blog as well. I'm sure a lot of people want to talk about what Alex just said. You can, too, with the live chat at AC360.com. That's what that little chime was. Coming up: more of the president in his own words, and how those words fit the facts. Are the figures the president is using when he talks about the budget, the estimates about recovery, are they too rosy? We're checking the facts, "Keeping Them Honest." Then: The president today agreed to send more equipment, manpower to our border with Mexico to stop the drug war from spilling over here more. Michael Ware is recently back from the front lines -- his report coming up tonight. And before he spoke to reporters, the president spent a little time away from earthly problems talking to astronauts in outer space.</s>OBAMA: Were you tested to cut your hair shorter...</s>OBAMA: ... while you were up there?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a really good question, because it is a little bit of an overhead to take care of long hair here.</s>OBAMA: I think it's a real fashion statement.