> Obama to create jobs
President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs with public works programs that will rebuild roads and bridges, modernize schools and create alternative energy sources.
"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio address.
The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create millions of new jobs by January 2011, and he wants Congress to approve it quickly so he can sign it shortly after taking office on Jan. 20.
He called the plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face" and said that it will jump-start job creation and lay the foundation for a strong economy.
Obama outlined the recovery plan a day after senior Democratic officials disclosed that he intends to name Timothy Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, as his treasury secretary.
The announcement of Geithner's appointment could come as soon as Monday, they said. The news sent the U.S. stock market soaring on Friday.
If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, Geithner, 47, would assume chief responsibility for tackling an economic slowdown and credit crunch that threaten to create the deepest recession in more than a generation.
In his current post in New York, he has played a key role in the government's response to the financial crisis and has worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
As a Treasury Department official during the administration of former President Bill Clinton, Geithner dealt with international financial crises and played a major part in negotiating assistance packages for South Korea and Brazil.
Word of Geithner's likely selection emerged as Clinton's wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is in line to become secretary of state, said through a spokesman that discussions were on track for her appointment but no final arrangement had been made.
In his radio address Saturday, Obama acknowledged that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.
He said he was pleased Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits this week, but added, "We must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again."
He cautioned, "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better." But Obama said Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, "is our chance to begin anew."
On the personnel front, Obama has been moving quickly to select and vet a Cabinet.
His apparent choice for attorney general is Eric Holder, who held the No. 2 slot in the Justice Department in Clinton's administration.
Officials also said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had emerged as a likely pick as commerce secretary, although he had hoped to be secretary of state.
While speculation has been rampant about most top-level appointments, there has been relatively little about Obama's choice for defense secretary. His aides encouraged speculation before the election that Robert Gates, who now holds the position, would remain in office for an interim period.
Other Cabinet selections so far include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota as secretary of health and human services and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, likely to be named as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Also Friday, Obama and his wife chose Sidwell Friends School for their two daughters, opting for a private institution that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago - AP.
