Obama, meanwhile, addressed reporters in Chicago Thursday. On the economy, Obama said his inauguration would herald a new round of financial regulation.

President-elect Obama: “We have been asleep at the switch, not just some of the regulatory agencies, but some of the congressional committees that might have been taking a look at this stuff. We have not been as aggressive, and we’ve had a White House that started with the premise that deregulation was always good. And so, what I said during the campaign, I meant. We are going to have to greatly strengthen our regulatory apparatus and update it from what worked for a twentieth century financial system so that it works in a twenty-first century financial system.”

Obama went on to defend his controversial decision to select the anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage minister Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at next month’s inauguration. Obama said while he disagrees with Warren’s views on gay rights and abortion, his appearance would help reflect the diversity of US opinion.