2/9/09: Presidential Press Conference from White House on Vimeo.
I have to admit the last 8 years, I never ever watched White House press conference! What for? Last night, however, was different. Bloggers got invited for the conference. I watched the 'entire' conference with no interruption. My take from last night: Obama takes no crap from those who's trying hard to keep tax cut as the solution to crisis. Yes, you know who they are.
The best part from last night (I think) is when he said the need to fix buildings (h/t Tree Hugger).
This is another concern that I've had in some of the arguments that I'm hearing. [against the stimulus plan] When people suggest that, "What a waste of money to make federal buildings more energy-efficient." Why would that be a waste of money?
We're creating jobs immediately by retrofitting these buildings or weatherizing 2 million Americans' homes, as was called for in the package, so that right there creates economic stimulus.
And we are saving taxpayers when it comes to federal buildings potentially $2 billion. In the case of homeowners, they will see more money in their pockets. And we're reducing our dependence on foreign oil in the Middle East. Why wouldn't we want to make that kind of investment?
Now, maybe philosophically you just don't think that the federal government should be involved in energy policy. I happen to disagree with that; I think that's the reason why we find ourselves importing more foreign oil now than we did back in the early '70s when OPEC first formed.
And we can have a respectful debate about whether or not we should be involved in energy policymaking, but don't suggest that somehow that's wasteful spending. That's exactly what this country needs.
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