An emotional Obama leaves Chicago for Washington
'I choked up a little bit leaving my house,' the president-elect says. A full plate of politics, including a stalled economic stimulus package, awaits.
Reporting from Washington — An emotional President-elect Barack Obama left his Chicago home and took up temporary residence in a grand Washington hotel Sunday, his administration-in-waiting already burdened by scandal, war and congressional controversy.
On his way to join his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, who since Saturday have been ensconced at the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, Obama revealed to reporters that his leave-taking from Chicago had a poignant moment.
"I choked up a little bit leaving my house today. Malia's friend had dropped off an album of the two of them together," Obama said on the plane conveying him to his new life and responsibilities. "They had been friends since preschool, and I just looked through the pages and the house was empty and it was a little tough, it got me."
As Obama journeyed to the nation's capital, there were more hints of the immense challenges confronting the man poised to become the nation's 44th president Jan. 20.
A new war expanded in the Middle East, with fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip threatening to complicate Obama's plans to begin reshaping America's approach to that volatile part of the world.
Politics and scandal continued to swirl around the search for Obama's successor in the Senate.
A scandal involving state contracts in New Mexico prompted Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, to bow out of contention Sunday.
And on Capitol Hill, prospects dimmed for swift passage of a massive stimulus package as congressional leaders indicated the legislation Obama had hoped to sign after being sworn in on Inauguration Day would not reach his desk until later.
"It's going to be very difficult to get the package put together that early," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said on "Fox News Sunday." Hoyer said he hoped lawmakers could send something to the new president before Congress adjourned for recess in mid-February.
On Obama's plane, incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he agreed with Hoyer that it was "very, very unlikely" that an economic stimulus package would be ready by Jan. 20. Republicans have already indicated unease at a package that could top $775 billion at a time when the national debt is skyrocketing.
The president-elect plans to meet with senior Democrats and Republicans today on Capitol Hill to discuss the stimulus package, likely to be his first legislative test.
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