Obama: No Stimulus Means Longer Recession

By Jennifer Loven

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday the nation's recession could "linger for years" unless Congress acts to pump unprecedented sums from Washington into the U.S. economy, making his highest-profile case yet on an issue certain to define his early presidency.

"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible," Obama said in a speech set to be delivered at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., outside Washington. Excerpts from his prepared text were released in advance by his transition team.

"A bad situation could become dramatically worse," he added, painting a dire picture -- including double-digit unemployment and $1 trillion in lost economic activity -- that recalled the days of the Great Depression in the 1930s. ...