Just days before his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama on Friday warned Americans to expect even rougher economic times, saying his plan to revive the struggling economy will take time to work.
"Recovery is not going to happen overnight," he told workers at a factory in Ohio that makes parts for wind turbines. "Even with the measures that we're taking, things could get worse before they get better. I want everybody to be realistic about this."
Mr Obama is buoyed by moves in Congress to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency funding he says he needs to fight the year-long recession. But he also is trying to manage expectations in a country where his promise of change lifted hopes.
"It's not too late to change course, but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible," he said. "The way I see it, the first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy working again."
On Thursday, Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled an $US825 billion economic stimulus bill that largely adheres to the measures the president-elect has requested.
The Senate voted to give Mr Obama authority to spend the $US350 billion remaining from a $US700 billion financial industry bailout fund created in October.
Mr Obama was pitching his proposals to create 500,000 "clean energy" jobs during a campaign-style trip to the campaign battleground state of Ohio ahead of his inauguration on Tuesday.
At the Cardinal Fastener and Specialty Company he visited with workers and examined the bolts for wind turbines that the company manufactures.
Wind power is one of several environmentally friendly sources of energy that Mr Obama is promoting with the dual aim of weaning the United States from foreign oil while boosting employment in a growing sector.
His economic plan aims to create 500,000 jobs by investing in renewable fuel technology. The plan is part of a wider package that his teams says will save or create between three and four million jobs.
In his remarks to workers he reiterated plans to double the production of renewable energy in the United States in the next three years.
Mr Obama won Ohio, a state that has been hard hit by manufacturing job losses, in the 2008 election and it likely will be an important state for him again politically in four years.
