Photograph of President Barack Obama gesturing during his second press conference by Charles Dharapak/AP

Last night, President Barack Obama said he saw "signs of progress" with the American economy but also added the public will need to be patient, "It’s important to remember that this crisis didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t result from any one action or decision. It took many years and many failures to lead us here. And it will take many months and many different solutions to lead us out. There are no quick fixes, and there are no silver bullets."

The President used his second press conference to bolster support for his $3.6 trillion budget plan, which members of both parties are criticizing, "This budget is inseparable from this recovery. It is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.” He also said, "The alternative is to stand pat, and to simply say we are just going to not invest in health care; we're not going to take on energy, we'll wait until the next time that gas gets to $4 a gallon; we will not improve our schools, and we'll allow China or India or other countries to lap our young people in terms of their performance." Here's video of his remarks and Q&A:

The Washington Post, as with many others, noticed that Obama's remarks were "delivered in a calm and measured tone," different from his visibly angry remarks about AIG. The President said, "The rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit... When each of us looks beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other -- that's when we succeed." However, he did offer a short reply to CNN reporter Ed Henry, who asked why it took so long for the White House to discuss the AIG bonuses: Obama said, “It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak."

The NY Times' Helene Cooper was "slackjawed over the shocking lack of national security issues raised. This is a new world we’re living in, after seven years of Al Qaeda, Iraq and Afghanistan. Hard to imaging a Bush press conference focusing so singularly on the economy, but then, these are clearly different times."