ann compton

COMPLETE TEXT OF OBAMA S PRESS CONFERENCE.

OBAMA: Now in the meantime, we've got to work very closely with the states to monitor and to help people who are still falling through the cracks. And you know, the homeless problem was bad even when the economy was good.
Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours.
And so we're going to be initiating a range of programs, as well, to deal with homelessness. One area in particular I want to focus on is the issue of veterans. The rate of homelessness among veterans is much, much higher than for nonveteran populations.
And so we've got — a number of the increases that we're looking for in our budget on veterans funding directly addresses the issue of homeless veterans. That, I think, can provide some real help.
Ann Compton? Hey, Ann. You sound surprised.
Q: I am surprised. Could I ask you about race?
OBAMA: You may.
Q: Yours is a rather historic presidency. And I'm just wondering whether, in any of the policy debates that you've had within the White House, the issue of race has come up or whether it has in the way you feel you've been perceived by other leaders or by the American people? Or has the last 64 days been a relatively colorblind time?
OBAMA: I, I think that the last 64 days has been dominated by me trying to figure out how we're going to fix the economy, and that affects black, brown and white.
And, you know, obviously, at the inauguration, I think that there was justifiable pride on the part of the country that we had taken a step to move us beyond some of the searing legacies of racial discrimination in this country, but that lasted about a day.
And, and, you know, right now, the American people are judging me exactly the way I should be judged. And that is: Are we taking the steps to improve liquidity in the financial markets, create jobs, get businesses to reopen, keep America safe? And that's what I've been spending my time thinking about.
OK. John Ward, Washington Times? Where's John?
Q: Thank you, sir.
OBAMA: There you go.
Q: Thank you, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Sure.
Q: In your remarks on stem cell research earlier this month, you talked about a majority consensus in determining whether or not this is the right thing to do, to federally fund embryonic stem cell research.
I'm just wondering, though, how much you personally wrestled with the morality or ethics of federally funding this kind of research, especially given the fact that science so far has shown a lot of progress with adult stem cells, but not a lot with embryonic?
OBAMA: OK. No, I think it's — I think it's a legitimate question. I, I wrestle with these issues every day.
As I mentioned to — I think in an interview a couple of days ago, by the time an issue reaches my desk, it's a hard issue. If it was an easy issue, somebody else would have solved it and it wouldn't have reached me.
Look, I believe that it is very important for us to have strong moral guidelines, ethical guidelines, when it comes to stem-cell research or anything that touches on, you know, the issues of possible cloning or issues related to, you know, the human life sciences.
I think those issues are all critical, and I've said so before. I wrestle with it on stem cell; I wrestle with it on issues like abortion.
I think that the guidelines that we provided meet that ethical test. What we have said is that, for embryos that are typically about to be discarded, for us to be able to use those in order to find cures for Parkinson's or for Alzheimer's or, you know, all sorts of other debilitating diseases, juvenile diabetes, that, that it is the right thing to do.
And that's not just my opinion. That is the opinion of a number of people who are also against abortion.
Now, I am glad to see progress is being made in adult stem cells. And if the science determines that we can completely avoid a set of ethical questions or political disputes, then that's great.
I have, I have no investment in causing controversy. I'm happy to avoid it if that's where the science leads us. But what I don't want to do is predetermine this based on a very rigid ideological approach, and that's what I think is reflected in the executive order that I signed.
Q: I meant to ask — just to follow up — do you think that scientific consensus is enough to tell us what we can and cannot do?
OBAMA: No. I think there's, there's always an ethical and a moral element that has to be, be a part of this. And so, as I said, I, I don't take decisions like this lightly. They're ones that I take seriously, and, and I respect people who have different opinions on this issue.
But I think that this was the right thing to do and the ethical thing to do. And as I said before, my hope is, is that we can find a mechanism, ultimately, to cure these diseases in a way that gains 100 percent consensus. And we certainly haven't achieved that yet, but I think on balance this was the right step to take.
STAFF: Last question.
OBAMA: OK. Stefan Collison (ph), AFP?
Q: Mr. President, you came to office pledging to work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. How realistic do you think those hopes are now, given the likelihood of a prime minister who is not fully signed up to a two-state solution and a foreign minister who has been accused of insulting Arabs?
OBAMA: It's not easier than it was, but I think it's just as necessary.
We don't yet know what the Israeli government is going to look like, and we don't yet know what the future shape of Palestinian leadership is going to be comprised of.
What we do know is this: That the status quo is unsustainable, that it is critical for us to advance a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live side-by-side in their own states with peace and security.
And by assigning George Mitchell the task of working as special envoy, what we've signaled is that we're going to be serious from day one in trying to move the parties in a direction that acknowledges that reality.
How effective these negotiations may be, I think we're going to have to wait and see. But you know, we, we were here for St. Patrick's Day, and you'll recall that we had what had been previously sworn enemies celebrating here in this very room.
You know, leaders from the two sides of Northern Ireland that, you know, a couple of decades ago — or even a decade ago — people would have said could never achieve peace, and here they were, jointly appearing and talking about their commitment, even in the face of violent provocation.
And what that tells me is that, if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then, then these problems can be dealt with.
That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I'm going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I'm in this office. I'm a big believer in persistence.
I think that when it comes to domestic affairs, if we keep on working at it, if we acknowledge that we make mistakes sometimes, and that we don't always have the right answer, and we're inheriting very knotty problems, that we can pass health care, we can find better solutions to our energy challenges, we can teach our children more effectively, we can deal with a very real budget crisis that is not fully dealt with in my, in my budget at this point, but makes progress.
I think, when it comes to the banking system, you know, it was just a few days ago or weeks ago where people were certain that Secretary Geithner couldn't deliver a plan. Today, the headlines all look like, well, all right, there's a plan. And I'm sure there will be more criticism, and we'll have to make more adjustments, but we're moving in the right direction.
When it comes to Iran, you know, we did a video, sending a message to the Iranian people and the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And some people said, well, they did not immediately say that we're eliminating nuclear weapons and stop funding terrorism. Well, we didn't expect that. We expect that we're going to make steady progress on this front.
We haven't immediately eliminated the influence of lobbyists in Washington. We have not immediately eliminated wasteful pork projects. And we're not immediately going to get Middle East peace. We've been in office now a little over 60 days.
What I am confident about is that we're moving in the right direction and that the decisions we're making are based on, how are we going to get this economy moving? How are we going to put Americans back to work? How are we going to make sure that our people are safe? And how are we going to create not just prosperity here, but work with other countries for global peace and prosperity?
And we are going to stay with it as long as I'm in this office, and I think that — you look back four years from now, I think, hopefully, people will judge that body of work and say, this is a big ocean liner. It's not a speedboat. It doesn't turn around immediately. But we're in a better, better place because of the decisions that we made