CHICAGO — Sending a strong message that the faltering economy will be his top focus, President-elect Barack Obama on Friday urged Congress to pass an economic stimulus package before he takes office. If lawmakers fail to act, he said he would make it “the first thing I get done.”

Obama made his first public appearance since his victory Tuesday night, using his opening remarks at the news conference to underscore the “sobering news” that the nation lost 240,000 more jobs in October. Flanking Obama were 16 of his economic advisers, a heavyweight cast of former treasury secretaries, business leaders and financial experts. Obama had presided over a meeting with the group earlier in the day.

Obama offered few concrete details of his approach to the economy. He said he wanted to extend the period that jobless workers can receive unemployment benefits, and also come up with ways to help the auto industry survive the economic downturn and develop more fuel-efficient cars.

But he advised Americans not to expect a speedy, painless recovery.

“It is not going to be quick, and it is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in, but America is a strong and resilient country,” said Obama, wearing a navy suit, flag pin and blue tie. “And I know we will succeed if we put aside partisanship and politics, and work together as one nation. That’s what I intend to do.”

Obama’s hopes for another stimulus plan square with those of congressional Democratic leaders. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid want to see a stimulus package passed this year, in the neighborhood of $60 billion to $100 billion.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, said the question is whether Republicans or the Bush White House would block such an effort.

“Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi strongly support the need for an additional stimulus package,” Manley said. “Hopefully, we can pass one this year in the so-called lame-duck session. If not, we’ll work with President-elect Obama to get it done as quickly as possible next year.”

Taking questions from reporters, Obama was by turns serious and playful. He committed his first gaffe as president-elect when answering a question about his preparations for the job. Asked if he had spoken to past presidents, Obama said he had talked to “all of them that are living.” As an aside, he said: “I didn’t want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances.” As first lady, Nancy Reagan spoke to an astrologer in setting President Reagan’s schedule.

Obama later called the former first lady to apologize for the “careless and offhanded remark he made,” according to a statement released by his staff.

He also offered a few details about a subject of intense national curiosity since he first mentioned it in his victory speech: the search for a family dog.

A new puppy was Obama’s promise to his daughters, Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7, who will be moving into a new home on Jan. 20.

“With respect to the dog, this is a major issue,” Obama quipped. “Malia is allergic to some dogs, but certain breeds would cause no problem. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So whether we’re going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household.”

In the foreign policy realm, Obama reiterated that he wants international pressure leveled against the Iranians to prevent their development of a nuclear weapon. He also suggested he was in no hurry to engage in direct talks with Tehran.

During the campaign, Obama faced criticism for saying he would be willing to meet with leaders of nations hostile to the U.S. without preconditions.

Obama said he was still mulling how to respond to a congratulatory note sent by Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He said he would “respond appropriately.”

“It’s only been three days since the election,” Obama said. “Obviously, how we approach and deal with a country like Iran is not something that we should … do in a knee-jerk fashion. I think we’ve got to think it through.

“But I have to reiterate once again that we only have one president at a time. And I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president, and I won’t be until January 20th.”

To date, Obama has officially announced only one appointment — Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. Advisers said he would move swiftly to name secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security, given the volatile economic climate and chronic worries about the nation’s safety.

Obama said, though, that he does not want to act with undue “haste.”

“I think it’s very important in all these key positions, both in the economic team and the national security team, to — to get it right and — and not to be so rushed that you end up making mistakes. I’m confident that we’re going to have an outstanding team, and we will be rolling that out in subsequent weeks.”

Speculation is churning about the next Defense secretary. One person who was briefed on the search for a new Pentagon chief said the candidates include the incumbent secretary, Robert Gates; Sam Nunn, the former Democratic senator from Georgia; Jack Reed, the U.S. senator from Rhode Island; and Richard Danzig, who was secretary of the Navy under Bill Clinton.

Gates’s prospects seem to be dimming, though. Were Obama to keep him, it might be difficult to replace the people under him, the person said.

Obama’s meeting Friday with his Transition Economic Advisory Board came as the Bush administration is launching a $700 billion bailout for financial markets rocked by staggering losses stemming largely from bad real estate loans.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Friday that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been sharing information with Obama’s transition team and was “very interested in how the next administration will deal with the economic plans that he’s putting in place.”

Minister’s remark outrages Italy

ROME — Italians never quite know whether to laugh or cry at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But many reacted with incredulity and outrage after the prime minister, visiting Moscow on Thursday, amiably called the first African-American president-elect in U.S. history “young, handsome and suntanned.”

Berlusconi made the remark while meeting President Dmitri Medvedev, of Russia, saying that Sen. Barack Obama’s good looks, his youth and his so-called suntan were “all the qualities” for Medvedev and the future president to “develop a good working relationship.”

Many Italian newspapers gave the comment nearly as much front-page attention as Obama’s victory itself. The journalist Curzio Maltese wrote in the center-left La Repubblica that “bookmakers wouldn’t even take bets” on how long it would take for Berlusconi to let slip another of his famous gaffes. “Mr. Berlusconi never fails to live up to our worst expectations.”

— New York Times News Service