WASHINGTON — Saying America has a history of doing what it takes to make a better tomorrow, President Barack Obama is calling on a country climbing out of its worst economic slump in decades to summon that spirit again.
“This is not the hardest Thanksgiving America has ever faced. But as long as many members of our American family are hurting, we’ve got to look out for one another,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address,released for Thanksgiving.
“As long as many of our sons and daughters and husbands and wives are at war, we’ve got to support their mission and honor their service,” Obama added. “And as long as many of our friends and neighbors are looking for work, we’ve got to do everything we can to accelerate this recovery and keep our economy moving forward.”
In the weekly Republican message, Rep.-elect Austin Scott of Georgia characterized the 85-member incoming freshman class as a “new breed of leaders for a new majority and a new Congress” and said they stand ready to turn the country around.
The GOP won control of the House in elections earlier this month and will take over in January.
“As much as we have to be thankful for, too many Georgians and too many Americans have been out of work for far too long,” Scott said.“Our new Republican majority is ready to focus on creating jobs and putting a stop to the runaway spending in Washington, D.C.”
Mindful of the new political reality taking shape in Washington, Obama wove another call for bipartisanship into his message.
He said one political party won’t be able to solve all the country’s problems.
“We’ve got to do it as one people,” the president said. “And in the coming weeks and months, I hope that we can work together, Democrats and Republicans and independents alike, to make progress on these and other issues.” He cited jobs and economic recovery among the concerns.
Obama is to meet at the White House on Tuesday with congressional leaders from both parties, a session originally announced for Nov. 18 but delayed a week and a half after Republicans said they couldn’t accommodate the president.
The president celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving at the White House, telephoned U.S. servicemen stationed around the world and dined with family and friends.
Obama made calls thanking two members each from the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy for their service and sacrifice, the White House said. He wished them and their families a happy Thanksgiving before joining his own for the holiday.
The first family was expecting relatives, friends and staff members to join them for a dinner of turkey, ham, potatoes - sweet and mashed - green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese.
Dessert was to include six varieties of pie: apple, pumpkin, sweet potato, banana cream, cherry and huckleberry.
The president’s favorite is said to be pumpkin.
In New York, a high-kicking Kung Fu Panda and a diary-toting Wimpy Kid joined the giant balloon lineup as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade unfolded Thursday, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to the annual extravaganza on a chilly, overcast morning.
As millions more watched the live broadcast on television, revelers gathered nationwide for other parades in cities such as Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia.
The Macy’s parade featured an eclectic lineup of entertainers including Kanye West, Gladys Knight and Colombian rocker Juanes. The Broadway casts of American Idiot and Elf performed, along with marching bands from across the United States.
Santa Claus closed the parade as always. A cheer arose as he passed by on his sleigh, shaking his enormous belly.
Other celebrities at the parade included India.Arie, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Keri Hilson, Arlo Guthrie and Miranda Cosgrove.
The Macy’s parade started in 1924 when employees from the department store marched in costume from Harlem to Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 because rubber and the helium used to fill the balloons were needed for World War II, making Thursday’s parade the 84th.
The parade followed the route it inaugurated last year, starting on Central Park West and proceeding down Seventh and Sixth avenues to 34th Street. The route had to be changed when vehicles were banned from parts of Broadway.
Not all Americans tucked into turkey with their families on Thanksgiving. Some were out shopping, hitting sales ahead of the crowds expected today.
After a year of cautious spending and worry over an uncertain economy and high unemployment, more stores this year extended hours into Thanksgiving Day, a day when stores are traditionally closed.
While crowds appeared relatively light compared with the weekend ahead, the extended hours drew in overseas visitors, those who have to work today and some who couldn’t resist a good deal.
Sears, Kmart and some Sports Authority, Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores were among those open Thursday.
David Friedman, president of marketing for Sears Holdings Corp., said the decision to open from 7 a.m.-noon on Thanksgiving Day stemmed from positive response to a similar “early Black Friday” sale in November, as well as success with Kmart, which Sears also owns and has been open on Thanksgiving for 19 years.
Workers will earn holiday pay and still be home in time for a Thanksgiving meal, Friedman said.
At the Sears store at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., the largest U.S. shopping and entertainment complex, sales were fueled by a charity walk at the mall.
The walk - and a good sale - drew Helen Schultz of White Bear Lake, Minn. She bought a 19-inch RCA LCD HDTV for $129.99, saving $70. But she said she wouldn’t have bought it Thursday if she hadn’t been there for the charity walk.
“I don’t think shopping should be done on Thanksgiving,” Schultz said. “But they need to make money.”
Last year consumers spent about $300 million online on Thanksgiving, compared with $887 million on “Cyber Monday,” a marketing term promoting online shopping on the Monday after Thanksgiving, according to comScore, a marketing research firm.
Early data from Coremetrics, an IBM company, from early afternoon showed that online Thanksgiving Day sales were up about 10 percent over Thanksgiving a year ago. The average order size was down 18 percent from a year ago to $130.50, but that figure was getting bigger as the day went on.
John Thompson, senior vice president and general manager of Best Buy Inc.’s website, said that this year the company reached out to its frequent online shoppers and gave them early access to deals.
“Thanksgiving Day is a day when we are seeing more and more consumers choose online as a place to begin their research and actually transact,” he said.
Bryce Humerick, 21, of Towson, Md., a sales associate at the Old Navy store in Lutherville, said he was happy to be making time-and-a-half.
“I don’t mind,” he said. “My Thanksgiving dinner isn’t until later.” Information for this article was contributed by Karen Matthews, Mike Householder, Mae Anderson, Sarah Brumfield and Steve Karnowski of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/26/2010