Facing anger over corporate bonuses and scepticism about his massive budget, President Barack Obama holds a news conference today to explain his economic strategy to a recession-weary public.
The news conference comes a day after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced details of a public-private plan to help rid banks of $1 trillion (€737billion) in assets whose uncertain value plunged the global economy into crisis.
Markets jumped 7 per cent on the news, but some experts questioned whether the plan would work. Mr Obama, who called the move "one more critical element in our recovery," was likely to address the plan and other economic issues at the evening news conference today.
"The president ... believes that a continued dialogue with the American people about where we are and where we're going is necessary, certainly in times like this," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
"They may or may not like all the decisions that he makes, but I think he believes it's important that they understand why he's making the decisions that he is," he told a briefing.
The news conference, his first since February 9th and second since taking office, follows a difficult week for the president, who was hit with public outrage over the payment of $165 million in executive bonuses by insurance giant AIG after it received billions in taxpayer bailout money.
Mr Obama was forced to repeatedly condemn the bonuses in different forums throughout the week while fending off calls for Mr Geithner's resignation because his department was aware in advance of the payments.
The furor over the bonuses distracted attention from Mr Obama's effort to build support for a huge $3.55 trillion budget for the 2010 fiscal year.
The president views the budget as central to his effort to lift the economy out of the worst recession in decades and lay the groundwork for future growth by making major investments in renewable energy, education and healthcare reform.
Reuters