Here's the abbreviated version of President Obama's hourlong press conference today: The president refers to "an economy that is currently weakening," by which he means, America. "Right now we've got an emergency," he says. Jobless Americans "are losing their homes. Their kids are dropping out of school because they can't afford student loans."
The president lashes out at China: "China has been very aggressive at gaming the trading system....and currency manipulation is one example."
In response to two questions about Solyndra, the president says the American government should keep funding green energy firms. While "traditional energy" is cheaper, he says, "The problem is, it's running out, it's polluting." He said, however, that America is "not gonna duplicate" the system in China, in which state-run banks give money to state-run companies, "ignoring losses and ignoring, you know, bad management."
He repeatedly referred to Lehman Brothers as "Lehman's." Asked about the protests on Wall Street, he said, "I think it expresses the frustration the American people feel."
"Not everybody's been following all the rules," the president said. "Wall Street is an example of that." However, he said, "a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal, it was just immoral, or reckless, or inappropriate."
If the Republicans won't pass the president's jobs bill, the president says he will keep going back with it one piece at a time. "I want an explanation as to why we shouldn't be doin' this," Mr. Obama said.
