CHICAGO, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday bristled at suggestions he's filling his administration with old Washington hands.
At his third news conference in as many days in Chicago, Obama said he is not looking to the people he's appointing for a vision of the future.
"The vision for change comes from me," Obama said after announcing his formation of a President's Economic Advisory Board, modeled after former President Dwight Eisenhower's intelligence advisory board.
"The old ways of thinking and the old ways of acting just won't do."
Obama said he is looking at the best economic minds in America to help him "ensure our financial system stays effective."
"Policymaking in Washington can become a little too ingrown, a little too insular," Obama said. "The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking. You start engaging in group-think."
At the same time, Obama said, you need people who know their way around Washington for the government to function, so it makes sense for him to reach back to the Clinton administration for expertise.
