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President-elect Barack Obama said today he is determined to get off to a quick start once he takes office. Mr Obama, speaking on CBS television news magazine 60 Minutes, continues to put together his team ahead of taking his role as president on January 20th.

“I think that part of this next two months is to really get a clear set of priorities,” he said.

“Understanding we’re not going be able to do everything at once, making sure the team is in place, and moving forward in a very deliberate way and sending a clear signal to the American people that we’re going to be thinking about them and what they’re going through.”

The president-elect said that while there is only one administration in power at the moment, there are some changes in the economic bail-out programmes that he would like to see such as help for the troubled car industry.

“For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment,” Mr Obama said. “So it’s my belief that we need to provide assistance to the auto industry. But I think that it can’t be a blank cheque.”

He also said he wants to see more of a focus in the bail-out plan on the needs of homeowners facing repossession. “We’ve got to set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is going to have an impact on the economy as a whole.”

He said if there’s not a focus on homeowners by the time he takes office in January, there will be once he does. 

Mr Obama will meet former rival John McCain tomorrow amid mounting speculation about a possible role for Hillary Clinton. She is widely tipped to be named secretary of state. Mr Obama has also discussed the job with New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Massachusetts senator John Kerry has long been regarded as a contender.