The Canadian Press

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in Chicago, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. (AP / Charles Dharapak)

A stern and steady Barack Obama addressed the nation Friday for the first time since the night of his historic election win earlier this week, pledging his commitment to cure America's profoundly ailing economy.
  
"Immediately after I become president, I will confront this economic crisis head on," Obama told a packed Chicago news conference, his top economic advisers flanking him following their hours-long meeting earlier Friday about the economic crisis.

"We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we're going to have to act swiftly."

Obama's first news conference as president-elect might have been focused squarely on the economy, but for a nation still basking in the glow of his victory, it also represented a first glimpse of how he will conduct himself as commander-in-chief.

Many have compared the challenges facing Obama to those that confronted Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, when he was elected in the midst of the Great Depression.

Roosevelt ruled with calm assurance, frequently reminding America that it would take years of hard work to pull out of the depression but that he was committed to bringing better days to Americans.

A presidential Obama sounded a similar tone in his brief news conference.

"It is not going to be quick, it is not going to be easy to dig ourselves out of the hole we are already in, but America is a strong and resilient country and I know we will succeed," he said.

Just as he did on the campaign trail, Obama laid out all the initiatives his administration will implement to ease the economic woes facing Americans, including extending unemployment insurance benefits and offering financial help to small businesses.

His professorial remarks about the economy were in striking contrast to the string of malapropisms and nervous chuckles that often characterized many of his predecessor's appearances before the national media.

George W. Bush stammered and stumbled his way through many of his news conferences, particularly in his first year in office.

Obama went out of his way Friday to praise Bush, however, saying he appreciated the president's "commitment that his economic policy team keep us informed."

He added he was grateful that Bush, one of the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history, has invited Obama and his wife, Michelle, to the White House on Monday.

Obama also pointed out more than once that Bush was still the president, and must still deal with the economic crisis until January's inauguration.

The president-elect went off-topic only once, smiling broadly when asked about his children, Malia and Sasha, and their impending acquisition of a puppy -- a promise he delivered in Tuesday's soaring election-night acceptance speech.

"This is a major issue," he said, adding the subject of an Obama family dog had generated more interest than almost anything else on his website.

"Malia is allergic," he said, saying that means the family has to seek out a hypo-allergenic breed. "Our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me, so whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household."

Earlier in the day, Obama discussed the country's financial crisis with his top economic advisers, including U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett and Lawrence Summers, who served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, the last Democrat to occupy the White House.

On Friday morning, Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended a parent-teacher conference at the University of Chicago Lab School where their daughters are students.

Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout on news announcements so that he and his staff can rest up after an exhausting campaign.

He is planning a family getaway to Hawaii in December before the Obamas move to the White House, and to honour his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died the day before her grandson made history as the first black man to win the White House.