WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama reassured Americans that his policies will lift the United States out of its recession, using a nationally televised news conference to press for support for his economic programs. Obama sought to shift the attention of the nation Tuesday away from the outrage over massive bonuses paid to executives of bailed-out insurance giant American International Group. Instead, he looked to cast the spotlight on a series of plans he has offered to revive the US economy. His latest efforts were announced this week. On Monday, his administration released details of a plan to thaw the nation's credit freeze by buying up toxic assets clogging banks' balance sheets. And earlier Tuesday, top economic officials pushed Congress for new powers to regulate nonbank financial companies like AIG. In his opening remarks, Obama said jobs have been saved because of the 7 billion economic stimulus measure that Congress passed, and the United States is "beginning to see signs of increased sales and stabilized housing prices for the first time in a long time." At the same time, he said full-fledged recovery is months away, adding, "it will take patience." He also said his administration was taking steps to make sure banks have money to lend "even if the economy gets worse." Obama remains widely popular, but his administration has endured some rocky weeks. The outrage over the AIG bonuses has kept the administration on the defensive. Republicans have denounced what …
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