U.S. President Barack Obama painted a bleak economic picture of the country Saturday, hours before he met with his economic team. "We begin this year and this administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action," he said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last 26 years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits," Obama said. The president pleaded for urgent action, saying, "If we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse." Obama's remarks came as he is lobbying for quick congressional passage of an $825 billion stimulus package to pump up the economy, according to a report carried today by CNN.
