CNN

First of all, one man can not fix the economy, one man leads the parade – and We the People need to fix the economy. We can all decide to march in the parade, or stand on the curb and watch, as the parade goes by. The economy is in a rat hole because We the People allowed our elected officials to rape and pillage the U.S. Treasury, all for the greed of Wall Street and the U.S. Banking System. Most of our elected officials are well educated lawyers, and they know when a fish smells too bad to be cooked. We the People better get busy, electing and supporting people who will make the hard, fast decisions, to restructure Wall Street and the U.S. Banking System. It is my belief that much of the initial TARP $350 Billion went off shore, funneled there by Wall Street Investment Banks. We are not out of the woods – in fact we are just entering the woods. The most recent "hurry up and dump $350 Billion more" tells me that Bush told Obama the whole story, and the story is well beyond gloomy. We the People got raped, plain and simple. Now, We the People need to get into the parade. Obama needs our help and understanding, frankly because the Bush Administration has left large piles of Poop in the Parade Route. The Congress can act swiftly, or continue to take Campaign Donations from Wall Street and large U.S. Banks. The Congress can enact a freeze on the $30 Billion planned for Wall Street Bonuses – which is 8.5% of the initial $350 Billion "No Questions Asked" gift from Paulson and Bush. Congress and the White House need to ask themselves why they allowed this to happen – and We the People need to elect the next wave of politicians to replace those who will jump ship, rather than face the tough questions to come. One thing the Congress can do right now is to freeze all payroll taxes for anyone making less than $100,000 for a period of six months. Put the money directly into the economy by giving workers their payroll taxes up front. The Payroll Freeze can be partially covered by the remaining $350 Billion in the TARP Fund. Stop pouring money into the Rat Hole, start pouring money directly into the economy.

Obama should get as long as it it takes to fix the economic mess that President Bush got this nation into. It took 8 years to get us to this point, Obama should arguably get 8 years to cure it.

Reality is finally sinking in. Nothing is going to get done.. its washington.

You have picked the wrong sign for the times. I've seen this same sign every night on my way home from work for the last 3 years. Its the same guy at the same location. We don't have people begging in soup lines. Stop making it sound like we are at the end of days or we will end up there.

Presidents can't "fix" economies. Sop spending our hard earned money on illegal, unconstitutional acts and we'd be fine

As long as it takes

I'll give him three months tops. Same with the wars.

Expectation for Obama are much higher than they were for Clinton or Reagan. He's promised everything and now it's time to deliver. I hope he can, but know he won't.

The PE gets 100 days just like every President before him, if the tone is not set in the first 100 days, it will be a very long four years for our new president.

Look the blame Obama for the economy blame Bush he knew about the economy problems for 8 years and Bush did nothing to help economy....This country need to stop blaming Obama for everything Bush have not done to fix the problem

I'm looking for conservative Republicans to begin chanting the meme of "do-nothing" on Jan. 21. "My God, he's had 24 hours and nothing has happened!"

Moderate Republicans might give him a month.

Reasonably, it will take Obama's eight years and Chelsea's eight to undo the mischief done by BushCo.

The very essence of this topic is why the economy will not get better soon. Any interference in the ebb and flow of market economics is just that....interference. Artificial structures are growing to wrap around the hundreds of billions of new federal spending. The new money is not stimulating new ventures but propping up decaying rot.

There is no quick fix to US economy; or for that matter, economy of any nation in the world. In every country, people need to have patience. It is in the interest of the world at large that the US economy is fixed quickly so that the trade could resume which will be a catalyst for the revival of the world economy. Sure, president-elect Obama has a strong team and it is hoped that they will bring about the much need change rather quickly. It is of paramount importance that the people are able to hold onto their jobs and mortgages which in itself will revive the economy to a large extent. The auto bail out was in the right direction. Likewise, if the 750B dollars earmarked is spent wisely, the economy will pick up albeit not very fast but gradually.

Its funny that now for the first time we are hearing the word PATIENCE out of Mr. Obamas mouth , I don't remember hearing that word at all from January 08 until November 3 08,when he was running against John McCain, I do remember hearing him say CHANGE alot, but it looks like at least the first couple of years its going to be alot of the SAME as the last couple of years, GOOD LUCK Obama

My question would be, " How long will voters give Congress to get over petty partisan politics and posturing to get behind the PE to help him fix the economy?"

The two year election cycle of Congress prevents bold, country first moves and reelecting the same people over and over prevents new ideas and approaches.

The American people want instant gratification-He doesn't have much time.House payments,food,utilities,car payments,those bills just keep coming,most Americans live paycheck to paycheck,and have no savings,this is going to be ugly.

WOW!!!

The Obama factor on the economy is great. The DOW is down about 5.5%, the S&P the same. He wants to put more money out there for what? The money is not a help........ NOBAMA has NO CLUE. Time will tell and his cronies will come to relaize he is just a suit. Some think when he takes office, all will be fine. It takes more than an ceremony to turn the economy around.

It's getting scary out there. Not only are there no jobs, but people have lost their savings and home equities in the collapse of the stock market and housing bubbles.

He's not God, he'll do the best he can. We are all praying that his administration will do better than the last. The bar was set very low with GW.

I know people are expecting miracles. Can President elect Obama get sworn in first? people that voted for the BIG DUMB BELL, gave him 8 years. I guess they felt 4 years was not enough for him to destroy this country. So let him get in office first.

Obama has no time as far as I'm concerned. He is a supreme error this country has made and we will all suffer for it (that's what he means when he says we all must sacrifice now).

HAHA...this is great... CNN's already doing damage control...justifying why Obama won't be the God they and other blind folks supported...
You failed to mention in your report that both Clinton and Reagan had EXPERIENCE......

8 years. There is not one shred of a chance that the media wll allow him to be held accountable for the economy, ever.

Of course, all the good that unfolds, starting next Wednesday, will be presented as a direct result of the Hand of Obama.

Whats the point in even asking this question? Whether in four days or four years, if the economy is still bad, Obama, his team, and the Dem's will still blame Bush. If there is one thing i've learned it's that very few Democrats will actually take responsibility for their actions, or be held accountable. eg Barney Frank, Chris Dodd. I'm not saying the GOP is perfect either. But we all know we can expect the Dem's to still be blaming Bush years down the road from if it is not fixed by the annointed one Obama

look we suffered eight years of the worst president in history.guess we have to be patient .for obama to clean up bushes mess.he left him and american people.so cnn give barack time before you critisize.WHERE WAS THE CRITICISM LAST EIGHT YEARS.OH I FORGOT BUSH KEPT US SAFE.HA HA

The people are hurting so badly, that he will have a very short time to make things happen or see his popularity drop greatly.

If, the economy doesn't improve, I don't think you will ever see an election again of this "historic" magnitude. The future of non-white presidents rests in his hands.

I wish him well. . .

This is a trick question because Obama does not WANT to fix the economy anymore than Bush wanted to stop terrorism. The downturn in the economy is what won the election for Obama and perpetuating the idea that it is in dire straits will allow him to push any proposal forward whether it will impact the economy or not. This is the same tactic Bush used to sell America on military action in Iraq.
Wake up people! Hold this guy accountable. DO NOT write him a blank check to fix the economy the way we did with Bush on military action in Iraq.

Why not give a million dollars to every citizen of the united states? That would save alot of money for the government right off the bat! The government would set up an temporary agency to make sure everyone paid off their debts first and send the remainder to the citizen. All social services would be stopped for 1-year; social security( except to seniors), welfare and unemployment benefits,etc. The federal govt. would not collect taxes for 1-year. Americans are up to their neck in debt. You can pour all the money you want into banks, auto industry and stock market but who is gonna have the money to spend in these markets? Everyone getting rid of their debt would surely pump up our economy and create jobs again. You know the government got us into this mess by forcing banks to take on these subprime loans. Jobs that Obama proposes on creating seem to be short term employment like road construction. Somebody please come up with a plan to help the average joe!

it took eight years to break it tighten your belt

It took Bush 8 years to create this economic mess and it's going to take Obama one day at a time and that first day hasn't begun.

If we are to be patient, then he needs to not promise what he cannot guarantee. Of course he cannot guarantee any of it, because only time and hard work will bring us out of this mess. But Barack needs to quit spending money that isn't there, just like all the rest of those Washington politicians do. And don't tell us to "tighten our belts" when he is worth millions and has a guaranteed paycheck worth much more than my family will ever make. Here in VA the governor has proposed cutting more in the budget like jobs and salaries, etc. We will suffer even more because of poor planning and excessive spending. If the states and the feds continue to live above their means this will continue. It has to stop somewhere, and I frankly am tired of trying to make ends meet when no one else seems to care!

While impatience is an American virtue and the modern "Immediate Gratification" society will force action, some things will simply take time to repair. First off, America should notice an immediate impact of the new cabinet with government agencies springing back to life and adjusting to actually functioning once again. Secondly, legislative actions to reverse poor policies of the past 8 years and institute new policies regarding trade, environmental, energy, and labor will have an emerging impact. Third, a fresh national spirit will erupt providing a renewal of the American morale simply by lifting the aura of doom from our daily lives. In short, it will probably take a year or two to become comfortable once again but at least by moving forward progress can once again be attained. Patience must become our new virtue!!!

Obama is already using the economy the way Bush used terrorism, to strike enough fear in the heart of americans that they approve of anything he proposes whether it addresses the root causes of the issue at hand or not.

A lot of time. No one with an ounce of a brain can expect us to be at the surplus we were under the Clinton administration, in one term of Obama's. We have to be patient- the Bush administration left us in such a terrible state.

But I do expect Obama to get things set in the right path once he takes office. Once we get rid of the money we're spending in Iraq (as the Iraqis live at a surplus while we have deficit) and other important measures, I'm sure we'll be back on track.

CNN SHAME ON YOU....JUST WATCHED 10 MINS OF A STORY ON MICHELLE OBAMA'S WARDROBE FOR THE CORONATION

YOU NEVER SAID HOW MUCH HER CLOTHES COST OR ASKED IF SHE GETS TO KEEP THEM!!!

We will give him as long as he needs.

However, he has to show us that he means what he says about Change.

A good start would be to remove Geithner as his cabinet choice. He was either trying to CHEAT on his TAXES or is too ignorant to handle his own taxes. So how can we trust this guy to take care of the Economy and be in charge of the IRS.

Geithner is hurting Obamas vision of change so please President Elect Obama follow through on your commitment to eliminate corruption in Washington and dump Geithner!

Bush and company had 8 years to do a LOT of damage to the economy. It can't be fixed overnight. It could take a couple of years before the public sees any improvement.

"Create OR SAVE 3 million jobs". That is the perfect political phrase.

If we lost 10 million jobs on Jan 21, all he has to say is "Well, if not for me we would have lost 13 million jobs." Which is 3 million more than we would have lost.

Man, he is slick!